


may - peace came upon me and it leaves me weak

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [13]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bottom Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Drunk Eddie Diaz, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Soft Eddie Diaz, Team as Family, supportive firefam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26509759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: "And now we're getting married," Eddie announced, lifting his head. "I proposed and Buck said yes. No take backs!"Everyone laughed at that, and Buck gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You're so drunk.""Iknow."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 85
Kudos: 478





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Slight trigger warning: there is some mild homophobia in the first chapter and a description of a fire at a nightclub where people died.
> 
> We're nearing the end - the last chapter will be the wedding in July. Nearly there!

"Never, ever play Monopoly with them," Chimney warned Hen, who laughed loudly. "Seriously. Oh Eddie's such a nice guy, such a great guy, nobody has anything bad to say – well, I do. The man is devious."

The team were gathered around the table after dinner, delaying the inevitable fight over whose turn it was to clear the dishes. Eddie sat back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "Just because I know the rules and I know how to play well? How is that a bad thing, Chim?"

"Maybe we should play at work," Hen suggested, grinning at Chimney. "And then I can see for myself, and Eddie and Buck can't pair up."

"They still will," Chimney complained. "Look at them, having a silent conversation over there. You know if given half a chance they'll team up to destroy us."

Buck and Eddie _were_ having a silent conversation, and they shared a quick, smug smile.

"No offence Chim, but I've played Monopoly with you, and you probably deserve it," Bobby commented from the head of the table.

Buck ' _oohed_ ', and then said, "Yeah, and you're mean when you're winning."

"You're just a sore loser."

"I'm a sore loser because you force me to lose all the damn time," Buck complained.

"You're too nice for Monopoly, Buckaroo," Hen said affectionately. "You haven't developed the required streak of ruthlessness. Clearly, Eddie does not have the same problem."

Eddie glanced at Buck and said, "I still don't understand how we can be accused of teaming up. Buck ended up in jail three times during that game and I had a get out of jail free card, and I never gave it to him."

"Oh no he just gave you Boardwalk at a discounted rate so you could have the two most expensive properties," Chimney snapped, "and then you went ahead and built hotels on them knowing that it would destroy us."

"That's the point of the game! And you call _Buck_ a sore loser."

"So we're having a game night, right," Hen said, as Chimney groaned. "No, for real – we'll all team up as couples and see who's the best. I guarantee you it's going to be Karen and me."

"You guys have never played Monopoly with Athena Grant and believe me, you don't want to," Bobby said knowingly.

"Oh, I think I want to," Hen said with a grin. "I'm not scared of Athena."

"You should be," Bobby murmured. "You're all doomed."

"We're doing this, next Friday," Hen said, checking the calendar on her phone. "All of us are free."

"We can get together at our place," Bobby suggested. "Do you think you can all arrange baby-sitters?"

"Let me get this straight," Buck interjected. "You want to play Monopoly with all of us to determine who is best, which is kind of pointless because it's a game of chance—"

"It's strategic," Chimney cut in with an attempt at a nonchalant shrug, his arms across his chest. "I think we can all agree that it's a strategic game. Just don't let Eddie get any of those expensive properties."

Eddie gave him a devilish smile. "I bet I can talk you into selling one to me."

"There's absolutely no way in _hell_ that you'd be able to talk me into selling you _anything_ ," Chimney proclaimed. "Not a goddamn single thing you can say to make me do that."

"I bet I can," Eddie said to Buck, who smirked.

"Next Friday," Hen declared. "Monopoly competition at Bobby and Athena's. Bring some food; we'll make a night of it."

"Well, it'll probably be the last time we all speak civilly to each other," Bobby said dryly.

~

"There's mail here for you," Carla said to Buck, briefly kissing on him on the cheek. "It was sticking out of the mailbox, so Christopher carried it in for you."

"Thanks, buddy," Buck said, wandering into the kitchen.

Eddie sat beside Christopher at the dining table, examining the picture he was working on. "A cat?"

"It's a cheetah," Christopher replied, looking up at him with a smile. "I have to draw an African animal."

"Could've picked an elephant, or a hippo, or—"

"No, a _cheetah._ " Christopher stabbed a finger at the picture in his science book and bent over his artwork again. "They're the fastest."

"And the coolest," Buck said from the kitchen, a cookie hanging out of his mouth.

"See?" Christopher said to Eddie, who chuckled.

"Okay, well as long as Buck approves," he teased, ruffling Christopher's hair before turning to Carla, who was packing up her things. "You're off to Redondo for the weekend?"

"Yes, to see my sister," she replied. "What are you boys up to?"

"Buck's picked up an extra shift on Saturday night, so not a lot," Eddie replied.

"You're working too hard again, Buckaroo," she called.

"Someone's got to keep the lights on in this place," came his dry reply.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "He may have gone a little overboard on the honeymoon," he said in a low voice as they went to the door. "Not that he knows that I know that."

"He loves you and wants you all to have a nice holiday," she said, patting his back. "Besides, when you start having more kids, you'll be doing things closer to home. This is a break just for you three."

"Before real life kicks in?"

"I think you forget how much work a baby is," she said knowingly. "One of you is going to have to cut right back."

He hadn't thought about that, and he happened to glance over at the kitchen door as Buck appeared, leaning against the frame, flicking an envelope in his hands while he examined Christopher's drawing.

"I think we'll figure it out," he murmured. "I don't want to miss it again. We can work out our schedule."

"I'm sure you can," she replied, "and I'll be here to help whenever you need."

"You're the best."

"I know. See you all on Monday." She called goodbye to Buck and Christopher and then headed down the driveway.

Eddie closed and locked the door, wandering back into the dining room. "What's for dinner?"

"I don't know yet. Come with me," Buck said, waving the envelope at him. "Chris, think of something good for dinner."

"On it."

Eddie followed Buck down the hall to their bedroom, arching an eyebrow as he closed the door. "What's going on?"

Buck let out a long sigh that turned into a bitter laugh and passed Eddie the envelope. "You tell me."

Eddie extracted the card from the envelope and began to read.

_'Hey Buck,_

_I got your address from your parents, hope that's cool.  
_ _I've been in rehab for my substance abuse issues and my sponsor wants me to do the AA step things to make amends to the people I've hurt, and apparently you're high on that list but I feel like you don't really care?  
_ _Anyway I'll be in town pretty soon and am hoping to catch up with you and Eddie if that's cool._  
_Sorry for the old school letter but you're not on Facebook or anything and no one would give me your email address. You're really marrying that dude? Guess that's cool too.  
_ _Email me at_ [ _kyle.buckley6969B00B5@yahoo.com_ ](mailto:kyle.buckley6969B00B5@yahoo.com) _and let me know when you're free so I can apologise for being a dick._

_Kyle_ '

Eddie rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So we're definitely moving."

"Yeah, we need to get on that because way too many of my relatives have our address."

"I kinda wish you had better relatives." Eddie sat down on the edge of the bed, turning the card over in his hands. "Hear me out – you should probably agree to meet up with the guy."

Buck gave him an incredulous look. "What?"

"Yeah. Bobby told me all about this, the twelve steps? If he's serious about it, this is an important thing for him. And you said that stuff happened when you were kids… if he's clean and sober, wouldn't hurt to talk it through, maybe find some peace." Eddie shrugged at him. "You could meet somewhere neutral – not here – and clear the air."

Buck frowned. "I really don't want to."

"It's up to you. Just my two cents."

"Hmmm." Buck took the card from Eddie and murmured, "I do feel kinda bad for the guy. He's pretty messed up. But you're not coming – I don't want him distracted with your stunning good looks."

Eddie laughed. "Maybe I won't come in, but I'm going to be in the vicinity, just in case you need protecting."

"Ooh, big tough man," Buck teased.

"You're my sweet baby." Eddie kissed his cheek. "Set it up; we'll deal with it. It'll be fine."

"You're optimistic for once."

~

Their roles reversed, Eddie organised for Buck to take Christopher to school and speak with his teachers and the other parents about the upcoming field trip that he'd volunteered for, and he stopped at Milo's food truck to get them some breakfast sandwiches before heading to work.

He was alone in the locker room, changing into his uniform, when he heard the unmistakeable sound of Jeff Roberts' voice coming from the showers.

"You see Buckley is rostered on with us again on Saturday?" he was complaining, and there was a muffled comment from the person he was speaking to. "Yeah, man. So annoying. Can't stand the guy. You know he lied and got me suspended, right?"

Eddie paused, buttoning his shirt, and moved closer to the door so he could hear the conversation clearly.

"Well, you could've told him the walkway was damaged, man," the other person replied – it sounded a little like Tony Voss, but he wasn't sure.

"He's got two eyes, he can't use 'em? Nah, the problem is he can't do anything without Diaz around. The worst is when I have to work with the both of them, see 'em kissing and stuff? Fuckin' turns my stomach."

"It's 2021, gay marriage has been legal for five years, you fuckin' dinosaur."

"I don't give a shit if they get married; I don't want to see them making out when we're at work and I'm trying to eat my dinner. And everyone just accepts it, y'know? You know Buckley wasn't any good until Diaz came here anyway. That fuckin' kid has always been a smart-ass."

Eddie folded his arms across his chest, listening silently, wondering if he'd be fired for punching the prick in the face.

"You're a smart ass yourself."

"Takes one to know one. Hey, who do you think's the bitch, anyway? No way Diaz isn't the pants in that relationship."

"Come on man, that's not cool. I know you don't like them but that's no one's business."

"I'm just saying that Evan Buckley looks like the kinda guy who would suck a dick if he had to," Jeff said, clearly expecting laughter. "The guy's a pansy."

Eddie was all ready to storm in and confront him when he heard a female voice say, "Yeah, well, I'd rather work with those two than you."

"Lighten up Vasquez, it was a fuckin' joke."

Vasquez – he didn't know her well, but Buck had good things to say about her. Eddie held himself back, listening intently.

"You're a joke, you homophobic old prick," she snapped. "You know I'm a lesbian, right?"

"That's different."

"How is it different? Because my wife and I don't threaten your fragile masculinity? Because you'd rather watch us fuck than two dudes? You're a dumbass."

"I preferred this place when it was a little less equal opportunity, you know."

"Oh why, because you're ancient history? Diaz and Buckley are two of the best we've got and it pisses you off. Why don't you go home and cry into a beer, you fucking alcoholic."

"Fuck you!" Jeff was shouting, his voice echoing in the showers, but Vasquez strode out into the locker room, dressed in her casual clothes, her work uniform in a bundle under her arm. She jerked with surprise when she realised Eddie was listening and winced at him.

"Man, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Thanks for sticking up for us."

"Don't listen to that guy." Vasquez tilted her head, gesturing for him to follow her over to the side. "Jeff's on his way out," she said in a low voice. "I heard that they're looking at letting him go. He's got problems with alcohol. If Buck is on with us this weekend, let him know not to trust the guy."

"I'll swap out with him," Eddie said. "Give him a break."

She grimaced. "You might regret that."

"Yeah, well, Buck picks up a lot of the overnight shifts, so I can do one. It seems like Jeff has a real problem with him and I'd rather take him out of the equation. He's too damn nice."

"Yeah, he's a great guy," she said, retrieving her bag from her locker. "I'm hoping to get switched to work with you guys full-time. I mean, for the most part it's fine, but we do a lot of overnights and it's tough."

"I get it."

"Jeff doesn't really say too much to Buck when he works with us though," she said. "He just kind of ignores him or makes little comments. I don't think Buck really cares."

Buck hadn't mentioned anything specific, but that wasn't unusual for him to bottle things up. Eddie said, "Well, I'm still going to give him a night off on Saturday. I'll talk to Bobby and switch the shifts."

She shrugged. "He's going to be a prick to you."

"What's new?" he asked and flashed a smile. "I'm going to go before they know I was listening."

"Good idea. Jeff's a fucking dick," she muttered, rummaging through her bag. "I'll talk to you on Saturday, anyway."

Eddie left the locker room and climbed the stairs to the balcony. Hen and Chimney were watching TV, and Bobby was in the kitchen, working on a grocery list. Eddie shoved his and Buck's sandwiches into the fridge and said, "Hey, Cap – Buck's rostered on Saturday with second shift. Can I do that shift instead?"

Bobby glanced at him with concern. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I know there's this thing they do at the Science Centre on Saturdays that he and Chris have been wanting to try, and I thought if they did that, I could work his shift."

"I can't see it being a problem. Let me check the rosters and get back to you."

~

By the time Buck arrived at work, the swap was in place. Eddie followed Buck over to the fridge, about to tell him the news when Buck said instead, "You will not _believe_ what Debra said."

"Oh god. What?"

"That I wouldn't be a good fit for the excursion because I don't have any children of my own." Buck shot him a furious look, aggressively unwrapping their sandwiches. "So then all of the mothers started arguing and I just backed off, and then Liam's mother said over the top of everyone else, 'They're getting married in two months you dumb bitch,' and _then_ Ella's mother was like, 'and you're just pissy you weren't invited to the wedding,' and then I was backing away even more because it was getting out of hand, and one of the teachers was trying to get them to calm down – babe, you want some more hot sauce on yours?"

Eddie was chuckling, leaning on the counter. "Sure," he said. "And then?"

"And then Debra said that her words were taken out of context, which meant everyone else got upset again, and finally the teacher made her apologise to me. And _now_ I get to hang out with Meredith during the excursion – you know her, she's Taylor's mother – and she pulled me aside afterwards and told me that she can't wait and that all the mothers agree that you and Christopher are super cute, and Debra's a mean old bitch. And I said, well, they are super cute, I can attest to that, they're my beautiful boys, and then she was asking about the wedding and she said we picked a good photographer. So, you know, a lot happened. Here you go." Buck handed him his sandwich on a plate, cut in half, and kissed his cheek. "What's going on here?"

"Wait, you told Meredith that Christopher and I are your beautiful boys?"

"Yeah, I tell everyone that," Buck replied easily, heating his own sandwich.

"Jesus Christ."

"Aw, you don't like it?" Buck pouted at him, and then laughed when Eddie gave him a playful shove. "I mean, I'm excited about the excursion though, because the mothers are fun."

"I think it's exhausting."

"Good thing I'm going." Buck licked some sauce off his thumb and looked around the station. "Quiet today. What's going on here?"

"Bobby and everyone have gone to do the shopping," Eddie replied, "but I stayed back to wait for you. And I'm working your shift on Saturday so you and Chris can go to the science museum."

Buck turned to him with surprise. "What?"

"Yeah, I took it from you. I want you and Chris to be able to do the museum thing without me slowing you down."

"But we were going to go together," Buck complained, hooking an arm around Eddie's waist.

"You guys can go, get the lay of the land, and then bring me to show me all the cool stuff," he suggested. "But I'm working your shift; no complaints. You're putting the money from your extra shifts into the honeymoon fund, right?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to; I'll pick it up somewhere." Buck eyed him suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Liar." He led Eddie over to the couches and settled against the cushions, one leg tucked underneath himself. "What's really going on?"

Eddie took a bite of his sandwich to buy himself some time. Essentially what he wanted to do was make a complaint to Bobby on the down low so that Buck would never find out what Jeff had said – Buck disliked the guy as much as he did, but he wanted to shield him from the worst of it.

With Buck's eyes trained on him expectantly, he said, "You're always working extra and doing things for Chris and I so we can have time together – it's time for me to repay you, baby. That's it."

Buck's eyebrows knitted together. "Oh."

"He's your kid too, and you guys have wanted to do the science museum for ages – just thought I'd surprise you." Eddie smiled at him, and to his relief, Buck smiled back. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "More than okay. That's awesome. He'll be so excited."

"So suspicious of my good intentions," Eddie teased him.

"You had a weird look on your face, that's all. I wondered if I'd missed something." Buck popped a pickle into his mouth, and then said, "Debra was wearing a zebra print outfit. All of it. Zebra."

"I don't even notice stuff like that."

"I think you would notice a fucking zebra in high heels wearing sunglasses berating everyone, Eds."

~~

It was Eddie who suggested that they go out for dinner on Friday night to celebrate their one year anniversary, and Christopher picked his favourite Mexican restaurant, so they piled into Buck's Jeep together. Buck drove, drumming his hands on the steering wheel, as Eddie questioned Christopher about what he was going to say during their wedding.

"So you've started it," Eddie said, turned in his seat to face his son. Buck could see Christopher in the rear-view mirror, devilish grin firmly in place, and was confident that Eddie wasn't going to be able to get any sort of straight answer out of him.

"Maybe," Christopher replied.

"And you won't even read us a little bit of it?"

"Nope!"

"What a tease," Eddie said to Buck, who chuckled. "How long is it?"

"Don't know."

"You don't know? Then you obviously haven't started—"

"I've _finished it._ "

"Oh, well, maybe I could read some then—"

Christopher just laughed, shaking his head. "It's a _surprise._ "

"You're not going to win this," Buck murmured, but Eddie persisted.

"What if you let Carla read it?"

"She'd tell you!"

Eddie glanced at Buck. "Yeah, that's kinda the point."

"It's a surprise," Christopher said again. "Just wait to be surprised!"

"Both of you know I don't like surprises, right? I've been clear about this?"

"Oh no, you've been keeping that a secret," Buck teased, as Christopher laughed loudly. "We had no idea! You're always begging us to surprise you!"

"Yeah, Dad."

"Ha ha," Eddie said good-naturedly, settling back into his seat. "This is gonna be fun. Two against one."

"Look, honestly, Christopher's loyalties change with the wind," Buck pointed out. "Yesterday you two were ganging up on me about what movie we were going to watch."

"I wanted to watch _Ghostbusters_ ," Christopher complained.

"And you won that battle!"

"Sounds like someone's still feeling a little sore about not getting to choose the movie," Eddie said to Christopher, who giggled again.

"Yeah, yeah," Buck replied, pulling into a park near the restaurant. "Come on, let's go."

The place was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night, and they were given a booth in the back. Christopher settled in beside Eddie with Buck across from them, and they were examining their menus when Buck felt a small foot kick him under the table. He looked over to find Christopher grinning broadly at him. "What are you so happy about?"

Christopher pointed to a poster on the wall of a cartoon frog wearing a sombrero and laughed so hard he doubled over. Eddie patted his back, shaking his head at Buck. "Maybe no sugar for this one tonight."

"Yeah, good idea," Buck agreed.

They placed their orders, and Buck left Christopher explaining to Eddie why the science museum was the coolest museum in the whole world, cutting across the restaurant to use the bathroom. When he emerged, a familiar figure was leaning against the wall outside the men's room, her arms folded across her chest.

"Evan Buckley," Ali Martin said, and grinned at him. "As I live and breathe."

"Oh, hey!" he exclaimed, holding his arms out to give her a hug. "What a surprise!"

"Yeah, I saw you walking – _walking_ like you hadn't been crushed by a truck, by the way – and thought, I know that man, I helped him pick out his apartment," she said affectionately. "How are you? It's been a hell of a long time."

"Yeah, I'm really good," he replied, glancing over to where Eddie was watching him from their table. "You? How's work?"

"Crazy busy. I'm actually based in Seattle now but I'm in town for the week – remembered this place and couldn't resist," she replied. "You're back at work now?"

"Yeah, fully healed," he said, tapping his bad leg. "Had some problems early on, but everything's okay now."

She nodded, but her eyes were focused on the ring on his left hand. "What's that? You got married?"

"Uh, engaged," he said, holding up his hand. "In November last year."

"Engaged! Holy shit, dude," she said, shaking her head in amazement. "Who's the lucky girl?"

Buck laughed. "Ah, well, he's over there," he said, and pointed to Eddie. "You remember Eddie, of course."

Ali's jaw dropped. "No way."

"Yes, way."

"No _way._ You're marrying your best friend? Dude, that's so awesome, give me another hug!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "When's the big day?"

"July 24th," he replied. "Want to say hi?"

"Yeah, sure!" she agreed, following him over to the table.

When Eddie recognised her, the wariness on his face was replaced with an easy smile. "Hey, Ali," he said. "I wondered who Buck was talking to."

"I cannot believe you two are getting married," she said, folding her arms across her chest as Buck took his seat again. "And I thought all that flirting between you guys when you were rescuing me was just banter."

Eddie laughed. "Yeah, well, it was at the time."

"Sexual tension. Is this your son?" She pointed at Christopher, who smiled up at her. "Christopher, right? Buck used to talk about you all the time!"

"I'm his best friend," Christopher said proudly.

"Awesome," Ali said approvingly. "So let me ask the question – who asked out who? Because I mean, I could tell you two were vibin' off each other even as you were trying to save my life."

Eddie raised a hand. "Guilty."

"Really?! I thought for sure Buck would've made the first move."

"Nope, I tricked him into a first date, which was actually a year ago today." Eddie smiled across the table at Buck. "And then I proposed to the guy and he said yes, so… more fool him."

"This is your anniversary dinner?" she exclaimed. "Man, you _guys._ "

They laughed, sharing an affectionate look across the table.

"Wow, I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you guys, honestly. I know we didn't have the greatest of endings, but I can see it all worked out for the best."

"But you're doing well, right?" Buck asked her. "Everything's good?"

"Oh yeah, the love life is still a mess, but I love my job, and honestly, that fulfils me," she said, squeezing his shoulder. "All right – I left my friends to stalk you, so I'm going to let you guys eat your dinner. So good to see you again, Buck. Congrats on everything."

"Yeah, it was great to see you," he said, giving her another hug. "Let me know next time you're in town, we can catch up properly."

"Most definitely. You guys have an awesome wedding," she said, pointing at Eddie, who grinned. "And an awesome honeymoon, and an awesome life, so no more scaling collapsing buildings, all right? It was dumb the first time you did it and it'll be even dumber now."

Christopher looked up at Buck. "When did you do that?"

"A couple of years ago," Buck replied, ruffling his hair. "Nothing to it. I helped your dad the entire time."

"Oh, all right," Eddie scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, you were a big help."

~~

A Saturday night shift brought with it a certain level of chaos – Eddie had only been at work for twenty minutes when they were called to a multiple car pile-up on the freeway, and from there to a backyard barbeque, where a gas bottle had exploded and set the yard and a shed alight. After that, they responded to a couple of guys on a bridge who'd filmed a TikTok that had gone horribly wrong - one of the guys was dangling over the side, shirtless, a length of rope wrapped around his waist. It was a stunt, his tearful friend tried to explain, to gain some internet clout. Eddie had just rolled his eyes at them.

It was after 1am when they returned to the station, and he hoped to grab some sleep before the next call-out, but that wasn't to be – the alarms went off almost as soon as he lay down, and they were back out again, heading into the city.

Jeff was quiet, not that Eddie was surprised by that – he'd taken Bobby aside earlier in the week and relayed to him what he'd heard, and Bobby had told him that Jeff was already on thin ice and they were looking at firing him. There was talk of mediation but he hadn't wanted anything to do with that. He let Bobby decide what to do, asked that he and Buck not work shifts with him as much as possible, and left it at that.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a single storey bar and live music venue that was well alight – injured people staggering in the streets, unconscious and possibly dead men and women lying prone near the exit, and flames were shooting up into the sky.

He went with the paramedics, moving from person to person. He was on auto-pilot, going where he was needed, assigning victims to ambulances and trying not to think about how most of them were so goddamn young.

"Diaz, we need you inside," Captain Stevens said to him, gesturing to the smoldering building. The raging fire was out, and smoke was rising into the night sky. "Do a sweep with Roberts, tag any bodies you find."

He nodded, striding over to where Jeff was standing near the entrance to the club. He adjusted his oxygen mask, made sure his tank was full, and followed him into the charred building. The stench that hit him was indescribable, made his stomach churn, but he put it out of his mind. This was the sobering reality of his job, and even though he and Buck had the same training, he was glad that he was the one handling this scene. There was a part of him that wanted to protect Buck from the horrors of the world as much as possible, though he rarely allowed himself to act on that instinct.

There were several bodies on the ground. Some charred, others mostly intact. They checked and flagged the victims and moved on, through the club, searching through twisted rubble and overturned tables and chairs. He was investigating a small hallway to the right of the stage when he thought he heard a voice, and then located a door that was blocked with debris.

"Roberts," he called on the radio. "Come help me with this." There was no answer, so Eddie called him again. "Jeff. Hallway to the right of the stage. Need your help."

Again, there was no response.

_This motherfucker_ , Eddie thought, removing the debris himself. In a few minutes he'd cleared a path to the door, and after checking to make sure there wasn't any heat behind it, he managed to bust it open. Four people were inside the small janitor's closet – three unconscious, and one awake but in bad shape, with burns to his arms and legs. Eddie called for back-up over the radio, stepping out of the way when the paramedics made their way inside.

That was when he saw Jeff, phone in hand, taking photos of the scene.

"Hey," he shouted. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Piss off, Diaz," Jeff responded shortly, turning his back.

"It's not your job to take photos," Eddie snapped at him. "Cut the shit."

Jeff turned around, waved his iPhone at Eddie pointedly, and then shoved it in his pocket. "Calm down. It's not hurting anyone. They're all dead anyway." As if to prove a point, he kicked the outstretched arm of a victim pointedly.

It was at that moment – right at that exact moment, mid-kick – that Captain Stevens entered the room. Jeff froze, but it was too late.

"Out," Captain Stevens snapped. "Get out."

"Aw, Cap, it's not what you think—"

"Looks pretty clear to me. Get out."

~~

Buck awoke to the news about the nightclub fire, and messages from Eddie reassuring him that he was okay. Eddie had taken his truck to work but Buck figured he'd be exhausted at the end of his shift and need some love from his son, so he and Christopher headed over to the station to meet him.

He carried Christopher up the stairs to the balcony and found Hen there for the start of her shift, drinking a coffee. "Hey you two," she greeted them. "I thought you had the day off."

"I do, but Eddie worked last night," Buck said, setting Christopher down on the floor. "I thought I'd come pick him up."

Hen raised her eyebrows and nodded towards Bobby's office. "He's been in there since I got back."

"What happened?" he asked, instantly concerned.

"Something to do with Jeff, I'm not sure," she replied. "There was yelling before. I think he's getting fired but I don't know why."

As if on cue Eddie exited the office, as exhausted as Buck had ever seen him, but he perked up when he realised they were waiting. "Hey guys," he said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Dad!" Christopher exclaimed, and Eddie swept him up for a hug. "Ew, you stink."

Eddie laughed, meeting Buck's eyes over his shoulder. "I know; I need a shower, but I'll do that at home. Let's get out of here."

"What's going on?" Hen asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

Eddie winced and said in a low voice, "He's getting fired. I caught him taking pictures at the scene last night."

Her jaw dropped. "No."

"Yeah. Thankfully, he hadn't posted them anywhere yet." Eddie gave Buck a look over Christopher's shoulder and said, "I'm sure you'll hear all about it, but I'm exhausted."

"You go home," Hen said instantly, waving them away. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

~

Eddie was quiet in the car, and when they arrived home, he gave Christopher a kiss on the head before disappearing into the shower. Buck and Christopher were on the floor in Christopher's room, working on their latest Lego masterpiece, and when Eddie emerged and waved to them tiredly before heading into the bedroom, Buck said, "I'll be back in a minute. Just checking on your dad."

"Okay," Christopher replied, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

Buck followed Eddie into the bedroom and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked with concern, dropping onto the bed beside him. "Last night looked rough."

"It was, but I'm okay." Eddie glanced at him. "I got Jeff fired."

"From what you said, it sounded like he got himself fired."

"Yeah, and Captain Stevens walked in on him kicking one of the bodies, but… the guy was crying, you know." Eddie grimaced, shaking his head. "He was pleading and talking about his wife and kids, and… then I put the final nail in the coffin."

"The photos?"

"No, he was being a homophobic dick about us the other day, and I overheard it all. I brought it up in the meeting, and he just lost it. Told me I had a vendetta."

Buck paused. "When did you overhear him? You never told me about that."

"The day you were at the school. I had already mentioned it to Bobby, but I brought it up again, and…" he trailed off unhappily. "I wanted him gone. He can't be trusted. I think they were going to suspend him and get him therapy but… I wanted him gone, Buck. So you and I don't have to work with him ever again."

Buck slid an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Look – first of all, don't keep stuff from me again."

Eddie let out a breathy laugh, nodding.

"Secondly, you did the Department a favour. There's a reason they cleared house when Bobby took over the 118 – from what Hen and Chim told me, the place was toxic. Guys like Jeff are dinosaurs."

"Yeah, I know."

"And thirdly – you saved someone's mother or father from finding a picture of their kid on the internet, and that's more than enough reason for him to be fired. Asshole," Buck said with conviction, as Eddie nodded again. "You're tired. Time for you to get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, it was a long night," Eddie agreed, tugging Buck in for a kiss. "What are you guys going to do?"

"We're building our Lego tower at the moment and then this afternoon I have to make something for Christopher to take to the party at school tomorrow, and he doesn't want me to make cupcakes," he said, rising to his feet and stretching his arms over his head. "And I'm still traumatised from the brownies, so it's going to have to be something else. I was thinking some kind of caramel slice thing but I don't know."

"Do you even have ingredients on hand?" Eddie asked, dragging the blankets down so he could slide into bed.

Buck pulled the black-out curtains and switched the air-con on for him, and said, "Yeah, I always have baking stuff."

"Since when?"

"Since you stopped paying attention to what groceries I bought as long as I had the stuff you like." Buck handed him an eye mask and a pair of earplugs, leaning over to kiss him again. "What time do you want me to wake you?"

Eddie glanced at the clock. It was 11am, and he'd need a decent night's sleep to be ready for work tomorrow. "Three," he said. "I'll help you bake."

"I think I'm good," Buck replied with a grin. "Get some rest."

~~

Eddie awoke to the smell of something wonderful wafting through the house, and followed his nose out to the kitchen, where Christopher was at the table, and Buck was removing a tray of chocolate chip cookies from the oven.

"Thought you said you were making a slice," Eddie said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes.

"Christopher announced that he wanted cookies," Buck replied, "so that's what I'm making. You want to try?"

"The dough tastes good," Christopher announced.

"You shouldn't be eating that," Buck admonished. "You're on rolling duties."

Eddie examined Christopher, who had cookie dough all over his hands, and a tray of misshapen dough balls on the table in front of him. "How many are you making?"

"Two batches should be enough." Buck examined the cookies fresh out of the oven with a critical eye. He picked up the smallest one, broke it in two and handed half to Eddie. "Try."

Eddie daintily bit off a corner, and just to mess with Buck, screwed his face up. "Oh god. These are _awful._ "

Buck's jaw dropped. " _No._ "

"Did you put salt in them or something?"

"No!" Looking horrified, Buck took a bite as well, and then groaned. "Don't do that to me, Diaz! You jerk!"

Christopher shrieked with laughter. "He got you!"

Eddie grinned at him smugly, polished off the rest of his cookie, shrugged and said, "I guess they're edible, I don't know."

"They're delicious," Buck declared, and handed one to Christopher. "Let the master decide."

Christopher took a bite and let out a long, " _Mmmmmm._ "

Buck arched an eyebrow at Eddie. "He has a refined palette."

"Oh yeah, real refined," Eddie teased, pulling Buck in by the hips. "Come here, you master baker."

"Master baker - I like the sound of that," Buck murmured, smiling as Eddie kissed him, ignoring the long drawn out, " _Ewwwwwwww_ ," from behind them.

**~*~*~*~**

**Christopher**

He didn't understand love.

He knew it was a feeling deep down inside, and he knew that he loved his Dad and Buck, his Abuela, his grandparents, his aunts and uncles and cousins. He'd loved his mother and he missed her every single day.

But he didn't understand how people 'fell in love'. What did that mean, to fall in love with someone? Was it something that you controlled and chose to do, or was it something that you had no power over at all?

He wondered about it sometimes, watching his Dad and Buck, because his Dad had said that he loved his mother. And Christopher _believed_ him, for sure, because Dad wasn't a liar and he was always honest with him.

And he was young when his mother left, and his Dad was away a lot then, so he didn't really have a lot of memories of the two of them together. He had no memories of them cooking together, like Dad and Buck did, or playing around or making each other laugh.

He remembered arguments – whispered arguments. He remembered his Dad was unhappy all the time. He remembered that after she left – and nobody would tell him where she'd gone or why she'd left, and he'd always thought, deep down inside, that it was because of him – his Dad had worked all the time, and when he was at home he just used to stare blankly at the TV.

And then they moved to Los Angeles and his whole world changed, opened up – his Dad was suddenly happy, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. And then there was Buck, the night of the earthquake, and Christopher had loved Buck right away. Like, instantly. He remembered feeling so nervous when Dad put him in the backseat of Buck's car, and meeting Buck's bright blue eyes for the first time. Dad had said, "This is my friend, Buck. Buck, this is Christopher."

And Buck had leaned over with his hand out so Christopher could shake it, smiled at him brightly and said, "So you're the awesome kid I've been hearing all about. Nice to meet you, buddy."

"Nice to meet you too," he'd said shyly.

Buck had given him another easy smile and said, "Pretty exciting day at school, huh?" and he'd nodded emphatically, because it _was._

And then he just talked to Buck the whole way home, answered his questions and asked him questions as well, and Buck listened to what he had to say and talked to him like he was a grown-up while his Dad listened quietly.

Afterwards, at home, his Dad had asked him if he liked Buck, and Christopher had gushed, "I love him." Dad had laughed at that.

Dad was happier when Buck was around, that was the truth. Even before they 'fell in love', whatever that meant – as far as Christopher knew, his Dad had been in love with Buck right from the start. He couldn't understand why _everyone_ wasn't in love with Buck.

He'd lied about having written his speech for the wedding – he'd tried to write a poem and failed, even though Carla had said it was really nice and that they'd both like it. It wasn't _right._ This was his Dad's big day, and he wanted it to be perfect because his Dad was perfect, and he and Buck loved each other so much.

So after baking the cookies, and while Buck was singing loudly (and badly) in the shower, Christopher climbed into his Dad's lap on the couch, plonked himself down and asked seriously, "Dad, what does it mean to fall in love?"

Dad pressed pause on the show he was watching and regarded Christopher seriously. "Why?"

Always so suspicious. "Research," he replied, which made his Dad's eyebrows scrunch together in that funny way of his.

"Uh huh. This wouldn't have anything to do with your speech?"

"Nope."

Dad plainly did not believe him, but when Christopher flashed a winning smile, he caved easily. "What was the question again?"

"What does it mean to fall in love with someone?"

He thought for a moment, his lips twisting. "I think it's different for everyone," he said, "but when I fell in love, it was like… I had a feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. Being with the person I was in love with made me happy."

"Buck."

"Yeah."

"And not Mom?"

Dad paused. "It was different both times," he said honestly. "Your Mom and I were really young, kiddo. We loved each other, but it was different to how I love Buck."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don't know… it was really fast, buddy. Your mom and I met and started dating and got married really quickly – probably way too quickly. We didn't know each other well enough. We knew we liked each other but when you get married to someone, you need to understand them as well. Like… you need to be friends as well as in love. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. He could understand that. "And Buck?"

Dad nodded. "Well, when I first started at the 118, everyone talked about how great Buck was – that he was the best guy and I was really going to get along with him, and when we met, we didn't get along. At all."

"What?" Christopher asked, horrified – unable to imagine a world where Dad and Buck weren't joined at the hip.

Dad grinned. "Yeah, but it only took a day for us to realise that we were a great team, and we've been together ever since. It's important to me to have people in my life I can trust, you know? And even though we had a bit of a rocky start, I knew I could trust Buck with my life, and most importantly, I could trust him with you as well. I didn't fall in love with him quickly or easily – it took a long time. I knew I loved him as a friend, and I wanted him in our lives, but things happened that made it take a little longer for us to realise we were in love with each other."

"But how did you _know_?"

Dad shrugged. "I had a feeling, deep down inside, for a while that maybe I wanted to be more than friends with him, so I asked him out on a date while you were at camp. And I thought he might say no, because… I wasn't sure if he liked me the same way or if he liked men as well as women… basically I _hoped_ that he was feeling the same way I was feeling. After you, Buck is the most important person in my life. Being with him made me feel good – it's always made me feel good, just being friends with Buck. He made my life better in every single way. And when I thought about our future, you and me, I just couldn't picture a world where Buck wasn't with us."

"But when did you fall in love with him?" Christopher pressed. "When? Exactly."

Dad laughed. "I don't know, kiddo." He paused, thinking, and then said, "Actually… the day I realised I was falling in love with him was on Christmas Day 2019."

"Why?"

"He organised it so that you and I could be together on Christmas. He arranged a big family meal for us and made sure Abuela was there; he gave you a present and then he stole me a box of fudge from Athena and smuggled it out in his bag so we could eat it later at home. I fell in love then, but I didn't act on it for a while."

"You fell in love because he did something nice for you?"

"No, because he's always done nice and thoughtful things for me without me even realising," Dad said. "And he does them for you too, like… making your bed in the morning. I know you don't make it that nice."

Christopher blushed, hiding his face behind his hands.

"And things like making a ton of cookies for your class, or going to the library to make sure you have new books to read… cutting the crusts off your sandwiches and slipping you extra treats when he thinks I'm not looking," Dad said knowingly. "And he found Carla for us. He's been my rock ever since I met him."

He leaned against his Dad's chest, tucking his head under his chin. "When will I know that I'm in love with someone?"

"It's different for everyone, kiddo."

"So if I asked Buck, he'd have a different answer?"

"Maybe. I never asked him." Dad gave him a hug. "Maybe you will fall in love and maybe you won't, but all I want for you is to be happy. You choose what you want, and I'll support you."

"So long as it's not riding a motorbike," Buck said from behind them, and they both looked up. He was towelling his hair, dressed in his pyjamas, fresh from the shower. "No motorbikes. I'm putting my foot down."

"Oh no, his foot is down!" Dad gasped, and Christopher couldn't help but giggle. "He's so bossy, all the time."

"You are," Buck retorted, and suddenly he was leaning over the back of the couch to envelop them in a hug, pressing wet kisses to Dad's cheek. "What are you two talking about?"

Dad was about to answer when Christopher cut in, "Can we watch _Jurassic Park_ again tonight?"

Dad groaned.

**~*~*~*~**

Eddie crawled into bed beside Buck, curled up in his nook with his head on Buck's shoulder, and closed his eyes. Buck flipped to the next page in his book, one hand dropping to Eddie's shoulder, running his fingers up and down his arm as he read.

"You okay?" Buck murmured.

"Yeah."

"Still feeling guilty?"

"No, not really. You're right. He got himself fired."

"Yeah, he was a jerk." Buck set the book down on his chest and asked, "What was Chris talking to you about?"

"He wanted to know what falling in love meant. How I fell in love with Shannon and how I fell in love with you and why it was different."

"Oh." Buck looked surprised. "For his speech, you think?"

"I guess? I don't really know. He was cagey about it. If he asks you, it's definitely for the speech."

"I thought he had it written."

Eddie shook his head, walking his fingers across Buck's chest to touch his nipple ring. "Carla said he wrote a poem, and he let her read it, but she then saw him ball it up and throw it in the bin. So he must have changed his mind."

"Hmm. If it's too much, we can let him out of it. He doesn't have to do it."

"He really wants to do it, I think. I guess just answer him honestly when he asks you." Eddie looked up at him. "When did you fall in love with me?"

"The moment you told me that I could have your back anytime."

"Liar."

Buck grinned. "When I saw you do a roundhouse kick for the first time."

"Liar. Tell the truth."

"Okay. That first morning when you had your shirt off—"

"Tell the truth," Eddie groaned, giving him a light shove. "Truthfully."

Buck was laughing. He set his book down on the bedside table, moved so that Eddie was on his back with Buck on top, and said softly, "When I saw you and Christopher together for the first time thought, _I want that._ "

"You wanted a kid."

"No, I wanted you and him."

"You couldn't have known that early."

Buck shrugged. "I'm more in touch with my emotions than you are—"

"I'm getting better," Eddie protested. "But I don't think you're being honest."

"There wasn't one moment, Eds. It wasn't like a flash of lightning. It's been every moment that we've been together over the last few years, slowly falling more and more in love with you every single day. Still falling love with you now. I will probably be falling in love with you until the day I die in your arms, whenever that may be." Buck pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "I'll never stop falling in love with you. Ever."

"Fuck _me_."

Buck snorted, dropping his head onto Eddie's shoulder and giggled. "Okay?"

"No, I mean, _fuck._ Are you going to pull out a speech like that at the wedding?"

"What, and make everyone cry? Maybe." Buck lifted his head again, grinning at him. "I haven't written my vows yet. What are you going to say?"

"I honestly don't know, and I'm kinda scared about it," he admitted. "Being vulnerable in front of my parents."

"Just look at me and forget about them. I'm the one you're talking to, not them." Buck traced the curve of Eddie's smile with his fingertip, dipping into the gentle groove of his dimples. "Just tell me what you want me to hear."

"I tell you that every day." Eddie slipped his hands up and down Buck's back. "I couldn't tell him the truth, you know."

"What's that?"

"That I love you more than I loved her." His face twisted guiltily, and he turned his head to the side. "That I'm happier now than I ever was with Shannon. That…" he let out a breath, closing his eyes. "That everything was hard, all the time, when we were together. We were always angry at each other; always against each other… what I have with you is what I've always wanted. A partnership."

"Yeah, but we've worked at it," Buck pointed out, shifting so he was lying on his side beside Eddie, running his fingers through the patch of hair on his chest. "And we have great communication. You can't have a good partnership without communication."

"That's just because you like talking so much," Eddie replied, turning onto his side as well, tucking his hand under his head.

"I'll never get tired of talking to you. Listen, it's like comparing apples and oranges, right? You were a different person when you were first with Shannon than you are now. You loved her, but in a different way, and that's okay. Christopher doesn't need to know the specifics – all he needs to know is that you loved his mom, and you did."

Eddie nodded. "You're right."

"I know. I always am; it's weird."

He gave him a playful shove in retaliation, and then groaned when Buck responded by leaning and peppering his face with kisses. "Stop."

"Nah."

Eddie flopped onto his back again, pulling Buck half on top of him, smiling up at him. "What are you going to tell him?"

Buck shrugged. "The truth. I always tell him the truth."

"That you fall in love with me all the time?"

"Yeah, like right now, how your nose has that little scrunch in it…" Buck ran his finger down the bridge of Eddie's nose, making him screw his face up even more. "And sometimes when you smile at me, I can see your little vampire teeth—"

"Vampire teeth," Eddie complained.

"Yeah, the cute little ones in the corners," Buck teased. "I see those little fangs and I fall in love all over again."

Eddie kept his lips shut and turned his head away, but broke into a big smile when Buck nosed his neck. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Marry me and prepare yourself for a lifetime of your husband mooning over you, every single day."

"There are worse things."

~~

Buck was relaxing on the couch at work, watching a cooking show, when his phone buzzed. Eddie was sprawled out sideways on one of the armchairs, his head dangling over the armrest, eyes closed, but he looked up when Buck groaned. "What?"

"Kyle replied to my email. He wants to meet up; he's in town." Buck sighed, rubbing his face vigorously. "Fuck."

"Pick a neutral place."

"I can't believe you're talking me into this, after what he did—"

"Hey, he didn't turn up at our house uninvited and try to pay you to dump me," Eddie pointed out. "So that's a tick in his column. Maybe he's not all bad."

Buck shot Eddie a skeptical look. "You met him. Are you feeling okay?"

Eddie laughed. "Yeah? I don't know; I just hate the thought of you not being on speaking terms with any of your family."

"Why? It doesn't bother me. I was raised differently to you, you know. I've got cousins I've never met." Buck sent a quick reply to Kyle, asking him to name the place and time, and pocketed his phone again.

"See, that's weird to me," Eddie replied, shifting so he was sitting up in his seat, leaning back and crossing his legs at the knee. "I've always been around my cousins."

Buck shrugged. "Your family is a lot closer than mine."

"What's happening with your family now?" Chimney asked from behind them.

"Oh, nothing," Buck said, waving a hand over the top of the couch. "Nothing you and Maddie have to worry about."

"We already do. Your parents are still hoping for an invite to your wedding," Chimney replied, dropping into the spare armchair across from Eddie, munching on an apple. "Fill me in."

Buck heaved a sigh. Eddie said, "Kyle's back in town, he's in AA and he wants to make amends with Buck. I told him he should do it."

"Uh, you definitely should _not_ ," Chimney said sharply.

Buck lifted his head, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Eddie. "See?"

"Am I the only one who distinctly remembers that he turned up here, drunk and stoned out of his mind, with a fake gun that he pointed at you? No?"

"What's going on?" Bobby called from the kitchen. "What's happening?"

"Yeah, don't leave us out," Hen complained.

"Buck's psycho cousin is apparently in AA and apparently wants to make amends," Chimney called to them, "but I don't believe it."

"Yeah, but what if he is genuinely trying to get his life together?" Eddie asked. "I can't be the only one who doesn't see the harm in them meeting in a public place where I will be nearby to keep an eye on the situation."

"And I'll be there too," Chimney said.

Buck looked back and forth between them incredulously. "Do you two not think I can take care of myself?"

"No," Chimney said bluntly, as Eddie replied with a delicate, "Yes, but… it's good to have back-up."

"First of all, he's got the hots for you, so you shouldn't go anywhere near it," Hen said to Eddie, pushing Buck's feet off the couch armrest and perching atop it. "Secondly, Eddie, why are you being so forgiving all of a sudden? The dude pointed a fake gun at Buck."

"Yeah," Buck agreed.

Eddie groaned. "I was just trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt."

"But he doesn't deserve it," Chimney pointed out.

"And do you think I deserved it, Chim?" Bobby spoke up, standing behind the couch, his arms folded across his chest.

"Ah, Cap, that's not what I meant—"

"If he really is getting some help, I don't think there's any harm in letting him speak his peace with Buck, even if Buck doesn't forgive him," Bobby said. "We could all be there to keep an eye on the situation."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle the douchenozzle on my own," Buck remarked.

"Yeah, but I think we all want to be there to watch you do that," Hen said with a grin. "Listen – if you go to a place with outdoor seating, the rest of us will just… take up a table nearby to keep an eye on things."

"All of you."

"Yeah, and Eddie will wear a hat, so Kyle doesn't immediately sense him in the vicinity," Chimney said dryly.

"It's nice that you think a hat will simply tone down Eddie's natural beauty," Buck commented, ducking when Chimney lobbed a cushion at him. "Simply stating a fact here, guys!"

~

Buck agreed to meet Kyle the following lunchtime at a park with food trucks, and tables and chairs set up overlooking the ocean. Buck took his jeep, and the rest of the team followed in Eddie's truck, parking some distance away. He actually felt relieved about having them all there, even if they were incredibly conspicuous – hell, Kyle had met all of them except Hen, so Buck was sure he'd spot them instantly.

Buck sat at a table to wait, twisting his hands together, and looked up when a shadow fell across him. "Hey man," Kyle said, taking the seat across from him. "Thanks for meeting me."

Buck examined him – as far as he could tell, he _looked_ sober. His eyes were clear. He wasn't sweating, he had colour in his cheeks, and he didn't reek of alcohol, which was a positive. He looked healthier than the last time they'd seen each other.

Buck said, "Yeah, I thought… I'd see how you were going."

"Well, not great. I did a stint in jail," he said, unable to meet Buck's eyes, "and then my parents put me into a rehab centre where I've been ever since. I'm only now allowed out during the day. You were the first person I wanted to talk to."

"How are things with your folks?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know man, how are things with your folks?"

"Shitty."

"Yeah, well." Kyle pushed his dirty blonde hair off his forehead and looked around. "How's Eddie?"

Buck held up his left hand and pointed to the ring. "Engaged."

"Man. Lucky you."

"Yeah, pretty lucky."

"What'd your parents think of that?"

"They're not thrilled but now they're trying to score an invite to the wedding, so I'm not sure what the angle is." Buck sat back, folding his arms across his chest. "Is the AA helping?"

Kyle shrugged. "Would I be lying if I said I didn't want to walk over to that truck and get myself a beer right now? Yeah. But my parents told me they'll cut me off if I don't do things their way, and I haven't got any money, or a house, or a car… or anything. You know, I was on top of the world, right? And then… it just got away from me."

"Drugs will do that to you."

"Yeah, but you partook as well, right? And you never got addicted."

"I never took drugs."

"Bullshit," Kyle remarked. "You took off on your own, went to South America and whatever the fuck else you did, and you're telling me you never took drugs?"

Buck shook his head. "I don't like drugs."

"Not even pot?"

"I smoked it once in college, decided it wasn't for me."

"Bullshit."

"I'm telling you the truth, dude. I don't have a problem with addiction."

"Yeah, your problem is that you're the fucken' golden boy—"

"I don't know why you think that when my parents and I have nothing to do with each other," he said patiently.

"You're the golden boy because your parents loved you enough not to hurt you," Kyle muttered.

Buck sighed. "I didn't know."

"You stayed with us."

"It's not like I was upstairs in the guest room. Your dad stuck me in the basement, and I made sure I was there as little as possible," Buck replied. "Kyle, I'm sorry. I didn't know that your dad was hitting you, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you were a dick to me my whole life. We've never gotten along. I don't know what you want from me now."

"I want your life," Kyle said flatly.

"Well, man, you can't have it."

"I want your boyfriend."

"You can't have him either." Buck wanted to turn to look for Eddie, but he forced himself not to. "You'll meet someone one day."

"Not like him." Kyle frowned deeply. "How the hell did you pull that off? I remember when you were a teenager; you were covered in acne. And you land him?"

Buck sighed. "It's not about that, man. The fact that you think love is based on what someone looks like is the fundamental problem."

"Well, maybe I don't love him, but I sure as hell would like to fuck him."

"Don't say that shit about my fiancé. Seriously. Shut the fuck up."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "It's not fair."

"Well, that's life." Buck checked his watch. "I thought you were meant to be apologising to me."

"Hey, is that Maddie's partner?" Kyle asked suddenly, sitting up straight. Buck turned around, and found Chimney blatantly staring at them from a few tables away, his arms folded across his chest. "Shit man, you were too chicken to come on your own?"

"No, he just doesn't trust you," Buck replied, watching as Hen, Bobby and Eddie wandered over to Chimney's table with some food. "And I'm having lunch with them after this."

"Is that Eddie?" Kyle suddenly looked hopeful. "Hey, you should call him over so I can say hello."

"No fucking way. Listen, are you apologising to me or not? Are we done here?"

"Yeah, you and I are done," Kyle said dismissively, rising to his feet, his eyes trained on Eddie. "I don't really care about you. Hey, Eddie!"

"Ah shit," Buck swore, as Eddie looked over at them with surprise. Chimney was suddenly on his feet, shoulders squared, moving so he was blocking both Eddie and Hen with his body. Bobby joined him, and they both stood there warily as Kyle jogged over, Buck behind him, shaking his head.

"Hey guys," Kyle said eagerly. "Hey, Eddie! Good to see you again."

Eddie ignored him, holding out his hand to Buck, who took it and slotted in beside him.

"You're done here," Chimney said to him, arching an eyebrow. "Right? You can leave now."

"How's the baby?" Kyle asked him. "Did it take after Maddie or more your side of things?"

To his credit, Chimney had no reaction. "None of your business, dude. Did you apologise to Buck for being a dick?"

Kyle looked past him at Buck and said, "I don't really think I owe him an apology."

"But you reached out as part of the program," Bobby said reasonably.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to see Eddie again," Kyle admitted, holding his hands up in an exaggerated shrug. "Hey, Eddie, maybe you and me could go somewhere and talk—"

"Nope," Chimney snapped. "If you're not here to apologise, you can leave."

Kyle groaned. "It's not fair though!"

"Life's not fair," Hen said from the table, arching her eyebrows at him. "You're gonna have to let this one go."

Eddie said in Buck's ear, "I was wrong."

"Yep."

"We could just talk though," Kyle tried again, but Buck pulled Eddie away from the group, one arm around his shoulders possessively. "Buck! Seriously dude, it's not fair!"

"I was really, really wrong," Eddie said again, a little in shock. "He just wants to hit on me."

"Well, in his defence, you're very handsome." Buck turned his back on Kyle, leading Eddie away from the group, content to let Bobby and Chimney handle it.

"Are you pissed at me?" Eddie was chewing on his lower lip worriedly.

"No? You were just trying to do a nice thing for the guy. I did try to warn you, and any time this comes up in the future I will say I told you so, a lot, but I'm not mad at you." They walked over to the lookout and took a seat on the bench, the table in full view – Bobby trying to talk to Kyle, Chimney with his arms folded across his chest and Hen watching with great interest, munching on a sandwich.

Buck rested his head on Eddie's shoulder. "No more Buckley's."

"No." Eddie sighed, and then murmured, "Am I really as hot as he thinks I am?"

Buck snickered. "Yeah, babe. You know that."

"Huh." Eddie walked his fingers up and down Buck's spine, watching as Chimney and Bobby began to march Kyle away from the table, where Hen was recording the confrontation on her phone, chuckling heartily. "He does realise that there's no way in hell I'd ever be interested in him, doesn't he?"

"No, the guy is delusional."

"You don't think he'll turn up at our house?"

Buck paused. "I hope not. He's only allowed out during the day at this point."

"Might throw an extra lock on the front and back doors, just in case," Eddie said, rubbing Buck's back. "Sorry again."

"It's okay. You know what this proves, though?"

"What?"

"Everyone thinks you're the tough one when in actual fact you are the secret softie."

Eddie laughed. "Well, you already knew that."

They watched as Chimney pushed Kyle into a car and slammed the door shut. A moment later the window wound down and Kyle stuck his middle finger out as the car rolled away. Once the car was out of sight, they stood and went back over to the table, where Chimney pointed at Eddie and said, "Dumbest idea ever."

"I know, I know," Eddie complained, taking a seat beside Hen. "I was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt."

"Some people don't deserve it and he's one of them," Hen said, passing Eddie his lunch. "So how'd you two make him leave?"

"I told him that if he didn't leave, I'd call Athena down to have him arrested again," Bobby said, taking a seat beside Chimney. "And that worked."

"If he gets arrested again, his parents will stop footing the bill," Buck said, examining the wrapped sandwiches on the table. "Which one is mine?"

"Here," Eddie said, passing him a wrapped roll. "It won't be as nice as Milo's but hopefully you'll like it."

Chimney pointed at Buck. "Next time that dickhead sends you an email and wants to be your friend, tell him no. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I mean, I don't understand how you and Maddie turned out normal and the rest of your family is crazy," Hen commented, raising her eyebrows at Buck. "Eddie and Chim, you do realise what you're marrying into, right?"

"As far as I'm concerned, the West Coast Buckley's consist of Buck and Maddie and that's it," Chimney replied.

~~

Eddie was still feeling guilty about having talked Buck into seeing Kyle, and later that night, after Christopher was tucked in bed and sleeping soundly, he took Buck by the hand and led him into their bedroom, closing and locking the door.

"What's this?" Buck murmured, allowing Eddie to divest him of his clothes. "What's happening?"

"I feel bad. I talked you into that." Eddie pressed his lips to the tattoo on Buck's chest, running his fingers over the three hearts on his ribs. "I shouldn't have."

"You don't have to apologise with sex, but I'm not complaining." Buck tugged Eddie's shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside. "You don't have to apologise at all."

"But I want to, and I'm going to," Eddie replied, wrapping one hand around Buck's half-hard cock. "I was thinking how much I love you."

"I love you too," Buck murmured, his hands ghosting down Eddie's back.

"And ever since you got all protective this afternoon and dragged me away from that idiot, I was thinking how much I want you to fuck me," Eddie said in his ear, and felt Buck shiver all over. "You want?"

"God, yes."

"So take."

Buck kissed him firmly, bending to hook his hands under Eddie's thighs and lifted him up, turning towards the bed. Eddie returned his kisses, twisting his hands in Buck's hair, and hooked his legs around his hips. "How long can you hold me up?" he asked, pulling away. "Do you think you can hold me against the wall while we fuck?"

Buck's eyebrows flew up. "Tonight? With your son across the hall?"

"No, but next time we're alone… I want to see how long you can handle it." Eddie could feel Buck straining under his weight and smiled down at him. "I think it'd be pretty hot."

"I'm going to lift some more weights and then we'll talk," Buck promised, turning around and tossing him onto the bed. He pulled Eddie's sweats down and off, kicked his legs apart, and crawled up to kiss him again.

He usually liked it when they'd take it slow if he was bottoming, drawing it out, but tonight he wanted to be claimed. They kissed for a while, and then he rolled onto his stomach pointedly, lifting his hips, grinning when Buck covered him with his body.

"Oh, you really want it, huh?" Buck said in his ear. "Gonna be quiet?"

He reached up and grabbed one of their pillows to smother himself with and nodded.

"I don't believe you," Buck chuckled, reaching over him for the lube in the bedside drawer. "Tell me when, okay?"

Eddie nodded, closing his eyes when he felt Buck slide back down his body, pull him open with both hands, and lick a stripe between his cheeks. The sensation went straight to his cock, and he reached down to touch himself.

They were so in tune with each other that Buck could tell when Eddie wanted it hard and fast, and he wasted no time prepping him and sliding inside when Eddie gave the okay signal. He adjusted himself, spreading his legs wider, palming his cock slowly, and groaned into the pillow when Buck began to thrust.

He was careful at first, running his hands up and down Eddie's back, bending over to press open-mouthed kisses to his skin, but when Eddie pushed back insistently, he sped up, holding his hips, fucking him vigorously. Eddie turned his head to the side, panting, one hand gripping his cock and the other clenching the sheets.

"You are so fucking hot," Buck hissed, pressing one hand against his lower back.

Eddie nodded in response, sweat beading on his skin. Buck shifted the angle, moving so he was on one knee, pulling Eddie in with every thrust until he was bottoming out. Eddie buried his face in the pillow and let out a ragged moan, stroking himself in time with Buck's movements.

He felt Buck lean over him again, slide one hand under his chest and pull him up until he was practically seated in his lap, with Buck's cock buried inside. Buck's hand splayed flat across his chest, his face buried against his neck, and Eddie worked his hips up and down, trying not to moan out loud, trying to keep it inside until he couldn't anymore, and Buck's hand covered his mouth.

Fuck, that was what he wanted, Buck wrapped around him, claiming what was his, owning him, and Eddie rode him until he was coming, shooting across his hand, grinding himself down until Buck was gasping in his ear and coming as well.

And then Buck lifted his hand off Eddie's mouth and found his lips in a messy kiss, his hands carding over his body aimlessly.

Afterwards, once they'd cleaned up and were in fresh sheets, Eddie spooned up behind Buck and hooked his arms around his chest.

"Love you so much, Eds," Buck murmured, on the verge of sleep. "Haven't got enough ways to show you how much I love you."

"You've got more than you think," he whispered. "Love you too, baby."

~


	2. Chapter 2

**~*~*~*~**

**Maddie**

"So let me get this straight," she said to Chimney, who was feeding baby Charlotte a bottle. "The boys have no idea that Friday night is their bachelor party."

"Nope."

"And how are you going to get them to the bar if they think they're going to Bobby and Athena's?"

"You're picking them up so they can drink," Chimney replied, "and then you're telling them that you need to pick me up from the bar because I was meeting some friends for birthday drinks, and when you get there and I'm not outside, you say to the boys, come on, we'll have to go in and look for him, and then bam – surprise." He smiled down at Charlotte, his eyes crinkling. "So hungry! Such a big appetite!"

Maddie drummed her fingernails on the kitchen counter. "I just feel like it would've been easier for you to either have the party at Bobby and Athena's or just invite the guys out for drinks at the bar rather than creating this ruse—"

"They're really going to be surprised," Chimney interjected. "They have no idea."

"It just kinda feels like it could be slightly more straightforward," she said delicately. "But I'm sure they'll be surprised. Buck has no idea. The last time I spoke to him, all he could talk about was what to put in his vows."

"Something heartfelt and sappy, I bet."

"He wouldn't give me any specifics." Maddie smiled at him. "Not long to go now. This time last year I never would've predicted that Buck and Eddie were going to get married."

"Nobody did. Are you going to give Buckaroo away?"

She laughed. "No? He hasn't asked me to."

"Who's walking him down the aisle then?"

"I don't know… they haven't talked about that." She thought for a moment, tapping her chin. "Actually, nothing has been decided about the ceremony at all. I'm going to call Adriana."

"When am I going to meet the famous Adriana that you're always messaging?" he complained. "I feel left out."

"You'll meet her at the bachelor party; she and Sophia are flying in for it." Maddie grabbed her phone from her bag and called Adriana, who answered almost instantly.

"Maddie!"

"Hey," she replied with a laugh. "How are you?"

"I'm _good_ ," she said cautiously. "Just give me one second." Maddie heard her shout something at her husband before the line went quiet, and then Adriana's voice came through clearly. "Okay, I just had to get some privacy. So listen, I was going to call you – as the big day grows ever closer, our parents are becoming more and more nervous about everything."

"Nervous how?" she asked, all thoughts of the ceremony vanishing.

"Nervous like they want to come to LA and sit down with Eddie and talk to him about whether or not he's really doing the right thing," Adriana said unhappily. "Soph and I had a big family meeting with them yesterday, and they started spouting off about how Christopher probably needs a mother more than he needs two fathers, and that they really like Buck but they can't see this lasting, and that they were concerned that Eddie didn't tell them that Christopher had broken his arm at school—"

"They handled that with the school directly," she replied quizzically. "What's the problem?"

"The fundamental problem is that Eddie can't do anything right," Adriana said bluntly. "They want to come to Los Angeles and discuss everything _again_ , which is going to upset him, and I don't want him to be upset right before his wedding."

"Do you want me to yell at them?"

She laughed. "Well, it seemed to work on your parents. I don't know what to do. I've told them to stop meddling in his life. I've told them that he's about to be married and that he and Buck are going to have kids together – I've told them that they just need to _stop._ Let him live his life, otherwise they won't be a part of it. I just don't think I'm getting through to them. I don't know what will."

"Maybe when he has that ring on his finger," she replied, taking the empty bottle from Chimney and setting it down in the sink. He stood, rubbing Charlotte's back, trying to make her burp. "Okay… I think you need to tell Eddie what's going on, first and foremost. Don't let them blindside him."

"I've told him a bit but not everything. The thing is that they're not generally homophobic, you know? But because it's _Eddie_ , suddenly _him_ not being straight is a problem."

"Is there some reason they're so much harder on him than they are with you guys? Did he do a lot of partying when he was younger? He's like the most stable guy I've ever met."

"There are certain expectations of him because he's the only boy, and he has to carry on the family name and all that bullshit," Adriana said with disgust. "And they want to wrap Christopher up in cotton wool and protect him. Baby him. That kind of thing. Let me tell you something – if and when they have more kids, they're going to use Buck's sperm, right, because Soph is going to give them the egg – I will bet you good money right here and now, Mads, that they'll treat those kids differently. You watch. It'll happen."

"Look, I'm just going to ask you again, why the hell can't both our parents be normal?" she complained, leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Chimney clean Charlotte's face. "I've got my parents wanting to know why Buck won't allow them to come to the ceremony, trying to figure out when it is – honestly, it's a nightmare. I'm half inclined just to tell the boys to elope and have done with the thing."

"No! I want my big gay wedding! My god, if you say that to Soph she'll probably kill you. Hey, why were you calling, anyway?"

Maddie laughed. "To see if the boys had mentioned anything about how they wanted to walk down the aisle."

"Oh god, I hadn't even thought of that. That's a good question. I'll talk to Soph and then after the party on Saturday we'll all get together and talk about how they want the ceremony to go. We're not flying home until Sunday. Do you want to come shopping with us on Saturday morning?"

"Yes, please! Can I invite my friend Josh along? You'll love him."

"As long as he's got a good eye for shoes, he's in."

**~*~*~*~**

Their first call on Friday morning was a bizarre one – a woman was stuck in a pontoon on a lake. How she was stuck, they weren't sure, but when they arrived at the scene her drunk friend explained that while they were taking selfies for Instagram, the woman had purposely stuck her head through one of the ropes on the side of the pontoon and was hanging on for dear life, trying not to drown or be strangled.

Eddie and Buck went with Bobby in a skiff out to the pontoon, where they found the strangely calm woman gripping the pontoon with both hands, her face bright red. Buck went in the water first, helping to prop her up, and Eddie was in a few minutes later to help Bobby cut through the thick rope.

She said to Eddie tearfully, "He's not going to cut my hair, right?"

Eddie said gently, "That's kind of the least of your problems right now, miss."

They managed to free her, took her by boat back to shore, where Hen and Chimney were waiting. Eddie was dripping wet, and he accepted a towel from Bobby as he climbed into the engine. Buck settled into the seat beside him, complaining about the water squishing in his boots. As they rode back to the station Eddie became more and more uncomfortable, desperate for a shower and some dry clothes.

"You guys get cleaned up," Bobby said over the headsets, "and then come up to the balcony to help me with lunch."

"Got it, Cap," Buck agreed, winking at Eddie.

Sometimes – if they could get away with it – they showered together at work. They couldn't do it if everyone was around (that would be too obvious), but as they were the only two needing a fresh change of clothes, it was almost guaranteed that the showers would be empty.

Sure enough, when they arrived back at the station, they found that the shower room was vacant, and they grabbed a change of clothes before heading into the end stall together. Eddie held his finger to his lips, ever paranoid, quickly unbuttoning Buck's uniform.

"Sneaky," Buck whispered into his ear, his lips trailing along his cheek.

"Very."

Once naked, their soaked clothes in a pile on the floor, Eddie pushed Buck up against the wall and kissed him, reaching to turn the water on. They both shivered under the cold spray, chuckling, kissing again as the water turned warm. Buck reluctantly pulled away long enough to grab the shower gel, dumping a generous amount in his hands to rub all over Eddie, turning him around, washing his back thoroughly, dropping down to scrub his legs as well.

They took turns, though Eddie kept an eye on the time, and when ten minutes had passed, he reluctantly kissed Buck one last time, and then left him in the shower to cool off. He dried himself and pulled his underwear and pants on, and then wandered out to the locker room to continue dressing.

He was at his locker, searching through his bag for a fresh t-shirt, when he felt two large hands slide down his back. "Babe, not in front of the windows," he said absently. "Someone could see."

"Does that worry you?" an unfamiliar voice slurred in his ear, and he whirled around to find Kyle leering at him with bloodshot eyes, and a wide, gleeful grin on his face.

"What the fuck, man?" Eddie snapped, backing up, balling a fist. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Get out of here!"

"Eddie?" he heard Buck call from the showers.

"Just wanted to talk to you," Kyle groaned, taking a staggering step towards him. "To tell you that I think you should dump Buttercup and be with me."

"Are you fucking insane?" Eddie demanded.

The door to the locker rooms banged open and Chimney stormed in. "Hey, what the fuck are you doing here, dickhead?" he shouted, grabbing Kyle by the arm, and yanking him away from Eddie. "Are you drunk?"

"Eddie!" Buck shouted, skidding into the room, clad only in his trousers. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Your idiot cousin has gone out and gotten himself drunk, and was leching all over Eddie," Chimney said bitterly, holding Kyle in place. "You've fucked up now, Kyle."

"Ah, it doesn't matter," Kyle slurred. "I just wanted to see if Eddie wanted to hook up with me before I split town."

"No," Eddie said flatly. "Seriously dude, I'm not interested. Get it through your thick head. I'm marrying your cousin in two months."

Kyle shrugged, making a face. "Thought it couldn't hurt to ask, y'know?"

Buck took a step towards Eddie, his eyebrows knitted together worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, he grabbed me, and I thought it was you," Eddie replied, which was the exact wrong thing to say, because Buck went bright red with fury and whirled around on Kyle.

"What the _fuck_ , dude?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "It was _nothing._ "

"No, man, you listen to me," Buck said, his voice practically shaking with rage. "If you ever come back here, I'll have you arrested. If you even so much as _look_ at Eddie again, I'll break your nose. You need to back the fuck off. Go out, clean yourself up and leave me the fuck alone. The sooner you start focusing on yourself and stop worrying about what I'm doing, the happier you'll be. Jealousy's gonna eat you alive, man. You gotta deal with this shit before you end up killing yourself."

Kyle nodded unsteadily, barely staying upright. "Okay."

"You seriously need help," Buck said to him, taking a step back towards Eddie. "Seriously, dude. If you come after Eddie again, I swear to god, man. I swear to god I'll break your nose. Don't even fucking look at him."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude. I'll fucken' crash your wedding; I don't even care."

"If you go anywhere near their wedding, I'll break your nose myself," Chimney snapped at him, and shoved him out of the locker room. "Come on. You've earned yourself a visit with the police."

"Aw, man, I didn't do nothin'!"

Once they were alone, Buck leaned on the lockers and let out a trapped breath, his eyes trained on Eddie. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eddie quickly reassured him. "No need to break anyone's nose."

"What'd he do to you?"

"He just touched my back. That's all. No harm done." Eddie tilted his head towards the shower room, as a crowd was gathering outside the locker room, watching Bobby call the police while Chimney restrained Kyle. He followed Buck into the showers and once the door was closed, Buck's hands were on him and they were kissing up against the wall. "I'm really okay," Eddie murmured when they parted. "Really, truly."

"Don't want anyone touching you but me," Buck mumbled. "Especially not _him._ "

"Likewise, baby. I saw that girl checking you out this morning."

"She was? I've still got it." Buck kissed him again, holding him by the waist, and Eddie let out a groan when Buck turned him around to examine his back.

"Seriously, there's nothing wrong," he complained, as Buck's hands slid down the length of his spine. "That does feel good though."

"I'm sorry my cousin is such a dick."

"Yeah, well, I invited trouble by encouraging you to meet with him, so it's on me." Eddie turned around again, pressing a firm kiss to Buck's lips. "Come on. Let's watch him get arrested again."

~~

Athena arrived, and there was a round of applause as she led Kyle away, shaking her head disapprovingly at him. She called Buck over and said, "I'll organise the paperwork. You two are getting a restraining order against him."

Buck nodded, folding his arms across his chest, as Kyle stuck his tongue out from the backseat of the cruiser. Athena patted his arm and climbed into the front, and Buck heard her say, "You're making my job easy, Kyle. You shouldn't have stolen from that gas station this morning."

"Aw, man!"

Buck turned away, heading over to where Eddie was standing with Hen and Chimney. Chimney grabbed him by the shoulders, gave him a shake and said, "No more of your insane relatives, Buckley! Understand?"

Buck grinned, pulling out of his grasp, giving him a light shove. "Hey, you're marrying into it, dude. We've got a crazy aunt on one side – actually, she might be dead. Ask Maddie about that."

"I have a theory that all of the Buckley's are crazy in some way," Hen said thoughtfully. "You and Maddie just hide it better."

"Hey," Buck protested, turning to Eddie for help.

Eddie said loyally, "I think I'd know, and so far he's in the clear."

"Yeah, see," Buck said, draping his arm around Eddie's shoulders. "This guy's gonna marry me."

"You do know what you're getting yourself into, right?" Hen asked Eddie in a low voice.

Eddie looked up at Buck with a grin. "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea."

~

"So why is Maddie picking us up again?" Eddie complained, sitting on the end of the bed, tying his shoelaces.

"So we can drink. I said we could just grab an Uber but Chimney said Maddie wanted to pick us up."

"And why aren't Chimney and Maddie going together?"

Buck paused, turning to face him. "I don't know."

They shared a look. "And why did Hen tell us to wear something nice? We're just going to Bobby and Athena's." Eddie looked down at his dress shirt and slacks with a grimace. "They're definitely planning something. This isn't a games night."

"You know, I thought it was weird that Bobby was into it, because he told me once that he hates Monopoly. He says everyone takes it too seriously." Buck opened the wardrobe and heaved a sigh. "What am I going to wear? What do you think this is?"

"Well, Maddie's picking us up, which means they want us to drink," Eddie said, leaning back on the bed. "And the other day I overheard Hen and Chim whispering about karaoke – maybe we're going to the bar? But if we are, I don't get why it's a surprise. Your birthday isn't for three weeks. And if this was a birthday party, maybe they should've let your future husband be part of the planning, because honestly – Buck, seriously, listen to me – I have something planned for your birthday and nobody is going to steal my thunder, okay? I'm serious. Valentine's Day was ripped away from us—"

"Ripped away," Buck snorted. "Okay."

"Yeah, it was," Eddie protested, "and I have this thing in the works and it's very important to me that it goes off without a hitch, so if these bastards—"

"Our friends, the bastards."

"If these bastards come in and try to steal my goddamn birthday thunder, I will lose my shit. We are doing _my thing._ "

"Okay grumpy, calm down," Buck said with a laugh, pulling his pink sweater over his head. "Does this look okay?"

Eddie gave him a soft, affectionate look. "Yes. I love it when you wear that. You look so _pretty._ " Buck groaned, making a move to pull it over his head again, but stopped when Eddie protested. "No! Wear it. It looks good – I'm not teasing, I swear. It looks really good on you, baby."

He paused, examining his reflection in the mirror, and said, "Okay. It'll do."

"Yeah, I can see your nipple ring," Eddie said from the bed. "I like it. Hey, maybe we should ditch them and go dancing."

Buck laughed. "So we think they're planning something, and your first instinct is to say that we can't go, and instead go dancing somewhere without them?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty good plan." Eddie stood at Buck's side, linking their arms together, examining their reflection. "You look really fucking hot," he said admiringly, and kissed him on the cheek. "And you were hot today when you were all, I'm gonna break your nose. I mean, I don't for one second believe you actually would, but still. You getting all puffed up and possessive, it kinda turned me on. Let's ditch them—"

"So quick to ditch everyone," Buck teased, planting a kiss to his lips. "We'll cut out early."

"Good." Eddie checked his watch. "She'll be here soon. Let's go."

~

Maddie was abnormally subdued in the car, and when she missed the turn for Bobby and Athena's place, neither of them said anything. It took her a few minutes to realise that they hadn't questioned her, and she glanced at Buck. "Um… I heard the road is closed, so I'm going the back way."

"Sure," Buck said, purposely not mentioning the fact that they were heading in the complete wrong direction. "Who's baby-sitting Charlotte tonight?"

"Mrs Lee," Maddie replied. "I'm trying not to stress about it."

"Everything will be fine. This game of _Monopoly_ isn't going to drag on too long," Eddie drawled from the backseat.

Maddie glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, her lips drawn tightly. "We are going to Bobby and Athena's," she said pointedly. "I just have to take a detour."

"Yeah, because they live in the hills," Buck said dryly, "and we're heading towards the coast."

"It's a long detour. Shut up."

"If you were planning some kind of surprise," Eddie mused, "why wouldn't you just say to us, hey, we're having drinks at a bar, why don't you guys meet us, and then when we get there, you all yell, surprise! Thus, surprising us."

"It's not a surprise – god damn it, I told Chimney that this wouldn't work," she complained. "Yes, it's a surprise party. Act surprised."

"Is it for Buck's birthday?" Eddie demanded, leaning forward in his seat. "Because I told everyone that I'm organising Buck's birthday."

"And it's not a surprise, because he's now told me that," Buck said dryly.

"It's not for Buck's birthday, it's for both of you, so just shut up and when we get there, act surprised!"

"If there's a Happy Birthday banner I swear to god—"

"It's not for his birthday, Eddie! Jeez! Adriana was right about how annoying you are."

Buck turned to face Eddie, who was smiling broadly. "They're gossiping about you."

"And you as well," Maddie grumbled. "We're almost here, so act surprised. Seriously."

"We'll give it our best shot," Buck replied, pleased that they'd gone to so much effort. "I can't promise Eddie will fool anyone."

"Maybe try not to roll your eyes so much, Eddie," Maddie said dryly, turning into a parking lot near their usual bar. "Listen – I told Chim this wouldn't work, but he insisted that we do it this way. You really didn't have any idea before today, did you?"

"No," Eddie said. "We figured it out at home."

"Okay. I'll text him that we're here, and then we're going in." Maddie raised her eyebrows at them. "Remember – act surprised."

~

It wasn't too difficult to act surprised when they opened the doors to the bars and found the whole place had been booked out just for their group of friends, who were all standing in a huddle waiting for them, screaming, 'Surprise!' as they stepped inside.

A banner hung over the bar – 'Buckley-Diaz Bachelor Party 2021' – and Buck and Eddie exchanged a quick, confused look before being consumed by the crowd. Buck was dragged into a hug with Bobby and then Athena, before realising that someone, _somehow_ , had invited his friends Steve and Derek, and everyone else was forgotten as he greeted them enthusiastically.

He heard Eddie shout, "You invited my sisters to my bachelor party?" and looked over to find both Adriana and Sophia hugging him gleefully, while Maddie snapped pictures of them.

"How did they get your number?" Buck asked Steve, totally bewildered.

"Oh, we traded numbers with Hen and Karen at your engagement party," he replied with a laugh. "They had no problem tracking us down."

They caught up for a few minutes, until Chimney draped himself over Buck's back, excusing them, and dragged Buck over to where Eddie was being forced into a lime green t-shirt with 'Groom #1' brandished across it in glittery letters.

"No," he complained, trying ineffectually to free himself from his sisters. "Seriously, you guys, this is dumb."

"Here you go, Buckaroo," Chimney said gleefully, handing Buck a similar fluorescent orange t-shirt with 'Groom #2' on the front.

"This doesn't go with my sweater," Buck groaned. "Why do we need this? Are you guys gonna get so drunk that you forget who we are?"

"Stop complaining," Athena ordered, "and put on your shirts so we can take photos of you."

"This is ridiculous," Eddie grumbled, and then snapped up his head up. "Hey, there better not be any strippers. Seriously."

"There aren't any strippers because we didn't know what gender to get," Chimney shouted at him. "But we have put together a greatest hits package for everyone's enjoyment."

Buck and Eddie locked eyes. "That's not necessary," Buck said, shaking his head. "We're good. We don't need that."

"You're going to love it," Hen said, which meant he definitely would not.

~~

Eddie was three beers in when he and Buck reunited in the corner of the room. Being thrust into a party where he was the centre of attention was not his favourite thing, and Buck's arms went around his shoulders in a reassuring hug. The problem was that Eddie was already on his way to drunk, the effects of the alcohol causing him to want to cling to Buck and not let go, so he did, resting his chin on his shoulder.

Unfortunately they only managed less than a minute of contact before Maddie dragged Buck away, the music cranking, wanting to dance with him, and Eddie was alone again for only a minute before Adriana was at his side, pressing a tequila shot into his hand. "Drink," she said, grabbing him by the chin. "Drink and stop moping!"

"I'm not moping," he complained, as Sophia joined them, passing a shot to Adriana.

"On three," Sophia said, holding the glass to her lips.

If he'd had any sense, he would've thrown it over his shoulder, but when she counted down, he drank it, grimacing at the aftertaste. "Jesus."

"Let's dance!" Adriana shouted in his ear, dragging him over to the dancefloor where Buck was trying to escape from Maddie and Hen.

Eddie pushed in between them and grabbed Buck, pulling him away, as the women descended on each other happily. They ended up in a corner of the dancefloor, their arms around each other. Eddie said in Buck's ear, "I'm drunk."

"Not too bad yet." Buck smiled down at him. "You're okay."

He nodded.

"Just 'cause they love us, Eds," Buck said. "You get sad when you're drunk sometimes."

"Yep." He tilted his head up for a kiss and Buck obliged. A flash went off as someone snapped their picture, and Buck held up his middle finger and kissed him again.

~~

"Okay!" Hen shouted over the noise in the bar, standing on the karaoke stage, as Chimney set up the projector and screen. "You guys want to watch an awesome video that Chim put together of Buck and Eddie being a pair of in-love idiots?"

Buck had his arm around Eddie, who had been force-fed a second and third tequila shot from his sisters and was giggling helplessly beside him. He'd progressed past the 'sad drunk' phase to the 'affectionate and happy phase', and Buck was sober enough to realise that if Eddie didn't level out, he was on a downhill slide to the next stage, which was 'overtly physical and uninhibited.' Knowing Eddie as well as he did, there was no way he would want to reach that stage, so Buck had begun intercepting any drinks that came his way, replacing them with water.

"Bobby's gonna make a speech," Chimney said into the microphone, slurring his words, "because he says I'm too drunk to do it properly."

There was scattered booing, and Bobby admonished the crowd with a look, taking the microphone from Chimney. "So," he said, pointing to Buck and Eddie, who were front and centre. "These two deceived us for six whole months, so when Hen and Chim wanted to put together this little presentation, we were concerned we wouldn't have enough photos or videos of the two of them acting couple-y. It turns out we were wrong. All the photos and videos you're going to see are from _before_ we knew they were together, and a lot of them are even taken before they were a couple. So enjoy this little compilation of Buck and Eddie hiding in plain sight."

Eddie draped himself on Buck, his chin on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Let's get out of here."

"Nope, they're all watching." Buck kissed him reassuringly. "It won't be too bad."

The video began – Chimney had obviously been playing around with iMovie – and the first photo flashed onto the screen, of Buck and Eddie at some point early in Eddie's career at the 118, when he still had his longer hair. Eddie let out a laugh, smiling up at the screen. The music kicked in – _'Come and Get Your Love'_ – and they watched a slideshow of various pictures of the two of them over the last few years, some eliciting aww's from the crowd, others laughter. Chimney had the microphone back from Bobby and kept a running commentary – "I can't believe I ever thought Eddie was straight," followed by, "Oh this is from the last time we saw Eddie drunk, can't believe we didn't pick up on it that night, right Josh?" and then, "This one was provided to us by Carla who knew way before anyone else did, seriously you guys are the worst, we would've been so cool about it!"

Eddie was giggling helplessly, and he was handed another shot of tequila before Buck could intercept it and downed it quickly. "D'ya know what," he slurred in Buck's ear. "I looked kinda good with long hair, d'ya think?"

Buck accepted a shot of _something_ from Adriana and downed it, grimacing when he realised she was plying him with tequila as well. "Yeah, you looked fuckin' hot," he agreed, shaking his head at her when she tried to offer him another. "Seriously Adriana, stop trying to get me wasted."

"But it's so easy," she complained, slamming back the shot herself. "Pair of lightweights."

"Lightweights, I'm not a lightweight," Eddie said in Buck's ear. "I'll show 'em. Adriana, another! Get me another one!"

~~

Oh, he was drunk.

So, so drunk.

Drunk, drunk, drunk.

The world was all hazy and beautiful, and Buck was there beside him, always touching, one arm around him, and all Eddie could do was gaze up at him adoringly because he was genuinely the most beautiful man on the planet and his birthmark was so fucking cute and he just wanted to touch it with his finger, so he did, and Buck was smiling at him, and then Adriana handed him another drink but Buck took it away before he could have it.

So he pouted, groping Buck's chest where he knew his nipple ring was, looking up at the stage as Athena descended from singing a song about respect by someone famous, but he couldn't remember who, and he slurred into Buck's ear, "Wass tha' song?"

And Buck kissed him and said, " _Respect_ by Aretha Franklin."

"Right, right, right." He wanted to sing, so he tugged away from Buck, stumbling over to where the book of music was propped up.

Someone grabbed him and he realised it was Maddie, who said, "You want to sing?"

"I wanna sing to Buck."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Buck said from behind them, and Eddie reached for him again, pulling him in close, because everything felt better when Buck was near.

"Let him do it," Maddie protested. "Eddie never lets loose."

"Lettin' loose," he agreed, flipping through the book, trying to read the songs with blurry vision. "Jon Bovi," he said to Maddie. "Where's that?"

"Which song?"

"Roses."

" _Bed of Roses_?"

"That."

Buck said, "You know you lose the ability to form sentences when you're really drunk, Eds."

Eddie turned his head, his vision swirling, and boasted, "Yup. Kiss?"

Buck obliged, taking the opportunity to physically pull him away from Maddie, who groaned at them. "Are you sure you want to sing?" he said. "You're so drunk."

"'m fine." Eddie draped his arms over Buck's shoulders and said, "I'm gonna sing to you. I'm a good singer."

"I know, but everyone's here, and…"

But Eddie was already pulling away, heading over to Maddie, who passed him a microphone with a bright smile. "You got this!"

He had it. He was a fuckin' good singer.

~~

Buck covered his face with one hand, watching as Eddie climbed onto the stage unsteadily, shouted, "Jon Bovi!" with his fist over his head, and the music kicked in.

God, he was drunk, but he could actually carry a tune, which was more than what Buck could do, and everyone was cheering him on. For someone who professed to know little about music he seemed to know all the words to the song, but it was about halfway through and after the line, " _But you know that don't mean I'm not lonely_ ," when he suddenly stopped, mid-song, and shouted over the music, "Buck, this is a fuckin' break-up song! Shit."

"Finish!" Chimney hollered at him, and so he shrugged and continued, swaying, holding his hands out at the end like he was some kind of rock star basking in the applause, before stumbling off the stage and into Buck's waiting arms.

"I thought it was a love song," Eddie complained, reaching for the drink that was offered to him by Sophia. "Tequila!"

"No, no," Buck protested, but Eddie had already downed it, smacking his lips, and pulled him in for a messy kiss.

~~

Somehow he went from dancing to making out with Buck in a toilet stall to dancing with his sisters again and then doing another shot with Chimney at the bar, to making out with Buck in the back hallway and then back out on the dancefloor again.

And then he needed to sit, so he found the best seat in the house – Buck's lap – and plopped himself down, wrapped his arms around him and kissed him again.

"So how drunk is Eddie?" Hen asked. Things were dying down, people had left and just the core group remained – Bobby, Athena, Maddie, Chimney, Hen, Karen, Josh, Carla, Adriana and Sophia. He had no idea what time it was, but Buck had food, and he passed Eddie a slice of pizza. It was the best thing he'd ever had in his life.

Buck replied, "The drunkest I've ever seen. No more booze for Eddie."

"No," Eddie agreed, because that seemed sensible and sometimes it was good to make sensible choices. He was a father, after all, he had a kid.

"You two have been making out all night," Chimney complained. "Don't you ever get a rash from all the kissing?"

Eddie said through a mouthful of food, "Never get tired of kissing him."

"I don't know, I thought your face would get all itchy. I've never kissed a dude."

Hen snorted from across the table. "Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't!"

"Yes, you have," Bobby said from the end of the table, his eyes sparkling. "We were all there."

"I wasn't there," Eddie protested, accepting another slice of pizza from Buck. "When?"

"Right before you joined, at our Christmas party, Chim and Buck got super drunk and kissed, and I have it on my phone," she said gleefully, holding her phone above her head. "Who wants to see?"

"Um, everyone!" Adriana shouted from the end of the table. "Pass it around!"

Eddie narrowed his eyes at Buck, who was wincing. "You wha?"

"He kissed me," Buck said, stabbing a finger at Chimney, who looked utterly confused. "Eddie, you watch. He sexually assaulted me."

"You _wha?_ " Eddie turned to Chimney blearily, almost sliding off Buck's lap. "No."

"I don't even remember this, so it never happened," Chimney declared, taking Hen's phone. He watched the video, Maddie giggling as she leaned over his shoulder, and his face fell. "Oh my god. I don't even _remember this._ "

He passed the phone over to Buck, who replayed the video so Eddie could watch – Buck and Chimney, wrapped in tinsel, arms around each other, singing _'Eye of the Tiger'_ loudly (and badly), and Chimney planting a sloppy kiss on Buck's lips for a few seconds before Buck pulled away, spluttering.

Eddie relaxed, but stabbed a finger at Chimney. "No more!"

"Nah, you're safe, Eddie," Chimney replied. "I got my own Buckley."

"Yeah, good." Eddie hugged Buck possessively. " _Mine._ "

~~

Buck had managed to fend off every drink that came Eddie's way, but Adriana still managed to sneak him one final shot of tequila as they were sitting around the table. Eddie was sitting sideways on his lap, his head on Buck's shoulder, silently listening to their conversation. He was awake – that Buck was sure of, as his hand was sliding up and down Buck's spine.

"I mean, I knew you were bi," Josh was saying, pointing to Buck, "because I used to see you at the clubs with Steve."

"You were watching me?" Buck asked with a grin.

"You're kinda hard to miss there, Buckley. No, one of my friends thought you were hot, and he always wanted to go up to you, but any time you were there, you were with your boyfriend. I always thought you were gay, so I was surprised when I met Maddie and she told me you'd had a girlfriend."

"We had no idea," Chimney commented. "Is that what being bisexual is like? You just go back and forth?"

Buck shifted under Eddie's weight, his arms around his waist, and said, "I never really had a serious girlfriend until I met Abby. I only ever dated guys seriously. I don't know how to explain it. I just… love people." Eddie cleared his throat, and Buck quickly added, "But obviously I love Eddie the most."

"S'better," Eddie said with satisfaction.

"I mean, I feel bad though," Josh said to Buck, leaning across the table. "I kind of outed you to Maddie. I thought she must've known you were bi."

"Don't worry about it man, we got outed on TV," Buck said with a shrug.

"Yeah, whatever happened to that red headed bitch?" Sophia asked from the other end of the table, swallowing the last of a bright blue cocktail.

"She got demoted again," Athena replied dryly, "back to the traffic report."

"The Chief was _this close_ to suing the station," Bobby said, holding his thumb and forefinger close together. "But ultimately they decided that Buck and Eddie were good publicity and that everyone seemed to like the video."

"And now we're getting _married_ ," Eddie announced, lifting his head. "I proposed and Buck said yes. No take backs!"

Everyone laughed at that, and Buck gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You're so drunk."

"I _know._ "

Josh reached a hand across the table to attract Buck's attention and said, "Hey listen – genuinely, man. I'm really sorry I outed you. I had no idea it was a secret."

"We're fine," Buck reassured him. "Honestly, Josh. I just never told any of these guys because… I don't know. It just never came up. I figured I'd tell them if I met another guy I liked."

Eddie cleared his throat again.

"Like Eddie," Buck added with a grin, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"Yeah." Eddie lifted his head and said suddenly, "I never came out either. Guys, I'm gay. I'm gay – so everyone knows, all right? I'm gay."

"I thought you were bi as well," Sophia said. "Aren't you?"

"Nah, I'm gay. You can't be gay though, right, in El Paso," Eddie slurred, looking over at his sisters. "Can you?"

They shook their heads, exchanging a look.

"And my dad would've been _so mad…_ he is still mad, I'm sure," Eddie said, almost to himself. "But I don't fucking care, right? Who fucking cares? Gotta be happy. Can't be miserable to make my parents happy, right? Buck?"

"Yep, you're right," Buck agreed.

"So I'm gay," he said, and smiled. "Weird!"

"Yeah, you are," Buck said gently. "But labels don't matter."

"No." Eddie pressed his forehead against Buck's, and then groaned loudly, "I want to go _home_."

Everyone laughed at that, and Buck checked his watch. "We should go," he said to the others. "This was great, you guys, even if we figured it out."

"What?" Hen and Chimney squawked in unison.

~~

Somehow, they managed to make it home. Eddie was drunk enough that things weren't super clear, but he was with Buck and Buck seemed to know what he was doing, so he just kind of followed along.

Once they were inside the house, he was on a mission, pulling out of Buck's arms and stumbling into the kitchen. "Phone?" he asked, patting his pockets. "Phone?"

"Here," Buck said, handing him his phone. "I was worried you were going to lose it."

"'m drunk," Eddie proclaimed, holding the phone close to his face. "World's all spinny. You drunk?"

"Nope." Buck rubbed his back, moving past him to open the fridge. "You're going to drink some water and eat some food, and then I'm putting you to bed."

"Wait, wait," Eddie said, trying to figure out how to make the thing play on the thing so there was loud music in the house. "Wha's that thing – the speaker thing, what… I found it. I _found it._ Listen!"

Buck turned around, grinning at him, as music began to blast of their Bluetooth speaker. "Rod Stewart?" he asked in confusion.

Eddie held up a hand, dragging the seek bar to the right spot, and grabbing Buck by the hips.

_If you want my body and you think I'm sexy_ _  
Come on, sugar, tell me so  
If you really need me, just reach out and touch me  
Come on, honey, tell me so_

Buck laughed loudly as Eddie tried his best to grind up on him, but he was unsteady and even though he was drunk, it didn't feel sexy at all.

"Aw," he complained, reaching for the phone again. "Not the right song."

"You're so drunk," Buck said in his ear, "and we're not having sex."

"'m gonna blow ya."

"No, you're going to eat some food and get some sleep."

"No, no, got another, better song, really good."

_I believe in miracles_ _  
Where you from  
You sexy thing  
I believe in miracles  
Since you came along  
You sexy thing_

Eddie attempted to dance, stumbled into the kitchen cupboards, and promptly lost his balance, falling almost in slow motion onto his back on the floor. Buck doubled over with laughter, his hands on his knees, and as Eddie looked up at him dazedly, he simply dropped down beside him and took the phone out of his hands.

"'m drunk," Eddie mumbled.

"Yeah, you're stupidly drunk." Buck kissed him reassuringly, moving so he was lying on his back on the floor. Eddie rolled so he was half on top of him, burying his face in his neck. "So I like where your head is at with the music choices," Buck said in his ear, "but I think you might need to calm down a little bit, huh?"

"I could fuck ya."

"Pretty sure you couldn't, right now." Buck scrolled through the music and found what he was looking for. "Here. Listen to this, chill out, and relax."

_If I could make a wish  
I think I'd pass  
Can't think of anything I need  
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound  
Nothing to eat, no books to read  
Making love with you  
Has left me peaceful warm and tired  
What more could I ask  
There's nothing left to be desired  
Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak  
So sleep, silent angel go to sleep_

_Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe  
And to love you  
All I need is the air that I breathe  
Yes to love you  
All I need is the air that I breathe_

Eddie heaved a sigh, clutching Buck tightly. "S' nice."

"I thought you'd like it."

"Nicer than Rod."

Buck chuckled. "Rod was pretty funny, though."

_Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak  
So sleep, silent angel go to sleep_

_Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe  
And to love you  
All I need is the air that I breathe  
Yes to love you  
All I need is the air that I breathe_

~

Somehow, he was able to put some food and water in Eddie's stomach, managed to give him a quick shower and then put him to bed. He was out like a light, passed out on his side, snoring lightly.

Buck slid into bed beside him, running his fingers down his back, and pulled out his notepad. He'd been trying to write his vows for months and hadn't come up with anything that properly conveyed how much he loved Eddie, but maybe with a bit of alcohol in him, and having witnessed the return of drunk, touchy-feely Eddie, he could put some words on the page.

_I love you._

_I don't know exactly when it happened. Every day that we've known each other I've felt it grow, more and more._

He paused, dragging the pen across the page, and then ripped the sheet of paper out and tossed it aside.

It was the thought of saying his most private, innermost thoughts in front of all their friends and family that had him hesitating – he almost felt like if he put down _everything_ he felt, warts and all, it might be too over the top.

He had no idea what to write, and so he set the notepad aside, spooned up behind Eddie and buried his face in his damp hair.

~

Buck awoke first, around nine, and left Eddie sleeping in bed while he went out to make them some breakfast. He was frying up some bacon when he heard a groan from the hallway, which was followed by the unmistakeable sound of vomiting from the bathroom.

"I'm dying," Eddie called. "Kill me."

"That would be the twenty tequila shots you had last night," Buck replied. A slight exaggeration - but if he'd let Adriana and Sophia give Eddie as many shots as they'd wanted to, the end figure would've been close.

"Jesus fucking Christ my sisters are evil."

Buck glanced over as Eddie appeared in the doorway, his hair standing on end, face pale. "I tried to stop you," he said with a grin. "Go and sit down. I'll bring you a big glass of water in a minute. You're going to drink and eat some food, take some aspirin and go back to bed."

"Aw, babe, I'm sorry, I feel like shit," Eddie mumbled. "I barely remember anything. Did I sing? Was I singing?"

Buck laughed and said, "Yes. Also, were you ever going to tell me that you're a secret Bon Jovi fan?"

Eddie stared at him, his eyes wide, jaw hanging open. "Am not."

"Seems like you kinda are, though."

" _No_."

Buck turned to face him, narrowing his eyes. "What's going on here? Why the sudden shyness? If you like Bon Jovi, that's okay."

Eddie shook his head vehemently. "I don't."

"Do I have to ring your sisters—"

"No. Okay, listen – here's the thing," Eddie began, holding his hands out. "We had like, four cassettes that we used to play in the car when we were kids, and one of them was a Bon Jovi album. I'm not a secret Bon Jovi fan, I just… happen to… know all the words to one particular album because it's burned into my brain."

"And that album would be the one with _Bed of Roses_ on it, right?"

"That's what I sang?"

Buck nodded.

Eddie gritted his teeth. "Fuck. Why?"

"You were singing it to me and halfway through you realised it was about breaking up, but you kept going anyway. Honestly, Eds, you've got a nice voice. Everyone was into it."

"Oh man." Eddie leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "I don't even remember. What else did I do?"

Buck cracked an egg into the pan and said, "Well, you were pretty interested in making out with me for a lot of it, and you kept dragging me off so we had some privacy, which was nice of you—"

"I was kissing you in front of everyone, wasn't I?"

"Oh, yeah. You did get a little possessive when Hen showed you the video of Chim kissing me a couple of years ago—"

Eddie's eyes bugged. "He what?"

"Which you clearly don't remember, so I'll get her to send it to me," he continued, adding another egg to the pan, "and then you came out to everyone."

He paused. "I came out?"

"Yep."

Eddie fell silent, and when Buck glanced over at him, he found him chewing his lower lip anxiously.

"Hey, it's okay," he said reassuringly. "They all knew you were drunk. You can take it back if you want."

"What'd I say?" Eddie asked uncertainly.

"That you're gay, and that you couldn't tell anyone before because of your dad, and living in El Paso…" Buck trailed off. "Our friends understand. It's okay."

He nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay."

"Hey, everyone knows you're getting married to a dude. This wasn't a shocking revelation."

"No, I was just… going to let everyone think I was bi, because…" he trailed off. "I don't know."

"Because you know there's nothing wrong with being gay and yet you feel ashamed about hiding it for so long," Buck guessed.

Eddie bobbed his head.

"Eds, it's okay. You have nothing to feel ashamed or guilty about, all right? You are who you are. You're marrying me in two months. They know you're into dudes."

"But I feel like… they'll all think differently of me because I was married to Shannon, and hiding, and…"

"They understand. Trust me. It's okay," he said, extending a hand to Eddie, who took it, and stepped in close to him. "It's okay. You have nothing to be ashamed about."

He nodded. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh."

"Yeah, dude. You proposed to me, and last night you were making out with me in public in full view of our friends. They one hundred percent know."

He managed a laugh. "Yeah."

"Besides, they know you were drunk, and they're not going to make fun of you for anything. It's okay." Buck rubbed his back, flipping the eggs over. "Do you want hot sauce on your sandwich?"

"Yes, please," Eddie said pathetically. "How come you're not hungover?"

"I had the good common sense to stop drinking when I realised your sisters were plying you with tequila." Buck kissed his forehead, hugging him close.

~~

Eddie returned to bed after breakfast, leaving Buck to pick up Christopher from his sleep-over. He tossed and turned in bed, his head thumping, and finally ended up lying across the bed with his head and arms hanging over the side. It was in that position that he saw a crumpled piece of paper on the floor and reached down to grab it.

_I love you._

_I don't know exactly when it happened. Every day that we've known each other I've felt it grow, more and more._

Buck was clearly trying to write his vows.

Eddie read the words a few times, wrapping his head around it, and then reached over to the nightstand to grab a pen out of the drawer.

Underneath he wrote:

_Remember Thomas and Mitchell_

_You told me what they said_

_It's not found, it's made_

_Go with that_

_Xoxo_

He tucked the page under Buck's pillow, pulled the covers up over his head, and tried to go to sleep.

~~

Buck found the piece of paper later that night and tucked it away into his notebook. He curled up on his side, facing away from the door, totally lost in thought when Eddie murmured from behind him, "You okay?"

He rolled over, smiling up at him. "Yeah. Just thinking."

Eddie sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his t-shirt over his head. "You'll be pleased to know my headache has finally gone."

"So tomorrow you'll be able to leave the house instead of lying around all day," Buck teased, poking him in the ribs. "Christopher thinks you're sick."

"Maybe we'll just let him think that." Eddie lay down beside him, shifting so he was tucked in beside him, Buck's arms around his shoulders. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "No more wild nights."

"No, you're an old man," Buck said, brushing his lips over his forehead. "No more partying."

"Don't let them give me tequila at the wedding."

"At this point do you think I have any control over what Adriana and Sophia have planned for you?"

"No, because they're diabolical," he grumbled. "Hey – they were going to talk to you about how we're walking down the aisle."

"How, like, are we doing a silly walk, or—"

"No," Eddie complained. "Like, who's going first, are we walking alone… is one of us waiting at the end, do we walk down together… I don't know how to do it."

"Do we walk down together?" Buck asked. "I don't care if it's traditional – I never liked the idea of giving someone away, anyway. It's gross. I'm my own person, nobody is giving me away. We're choosing to marry each other, so we should walk down the aisle together."

"With Bobby and Christopher waiting near the celebrant," Eddie replied.

"Chris can handle that."

"Oh definitely, he'll be so excited about everything. I've already talked to him about how he gets to take care of the rings for us and hand them to us during the ceremony."

"Even though we're already wearing them." Buck held up his left hand.

Eddie murmured, "Yeah, so we're getting new rings."

"What?"

"We're getting wedding rings. These are engagement rings; we need wedding rings. I don't care about tradition, but I do care about that, so I've already ordered them."

Buck chuckled. "Nice of you to let me know."

"It was going to be a surprise, but we need to go in for a fitting next week anyway." Eddie tucked his head under Buck's chin, letting out a sigh.

"What colour?"

"That part is the surprise." Eddie patted his chest. "Not long to go now, and then we never have to worry about wedding planning again."

"Hopefully Soph doesn't develop a drinking problem by then."

"Mmm. We should get them all a present – you think? Soph, Adriana and Maddie, as a thank you for helping us."

"You're a thoughtful person," Buck murmured, and Eddie let out a low rumble of laughter. "We'll have a look when we're at the jewellery store."

Eddie lifted his head. "I was thinking like a photo frame or something."

"You want to give your sisters a photo frame as a thank you for helping us with the wedding? Are you determined to make me a widow or did you actually want to live a long and happy life?"

Eddie grimaced. "Long and happy life. Jewellery it is."

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @ Tumblr: [woodchoc-magnum](https://woodchoc-magnum.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe](https://youtu.be/HydvceA1PAI)
> 
> Bonus tunes referenced in this chapter:
> 
> [Bon Jovi - Bed of Roses](https://youtu.be/NvR60Wg9R7Q)
> 
> [Rod Stewart - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy](https://youtu.be/Hphwfq1wLJs)
> 
> [Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing](https://youtu.be/JIN36NweL6I)


End file.
